


Made of Glass

by AvalonBay



Series: Avalon Series [2]
Category: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers
Genre: F/M, Gang Violence, Gangs, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2018-12-16 17:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 47
Words: 290,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11833521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvalonBay/pseuds/AvalonBay
Summary: [Sequel to All The Blame]. Things have changed though some things have stayed the same. The rangers continue with their battle against Rita and Zedd, but this time they have to divide their attention with the battles within themselves. How can they go on with the change of rangers and their personal lives hanging in the balance? It's only a matter of time until they prove they really can save the world. When the fate of three planets falls in the balance, they'll need each other now more than ever. From the moment Avalon Mitchell met the Power Rangers, she knew what was important: family, friends, and, love...but she's tormented by the pain and misery of her past that she thought was over. She's made of glass but the glass is starting to crack.





	1. Some Things Never Change

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted in full on Fanfiction.net under the same penname. If it is posted anywhere else other than those two sites, then it is not from me.

**Chapter 01**

_Some Things Never Change_

* * *

 

Tommy Oliver took a running start and jumped forward. Lifting his feet he drove them into the punching bag that sat in front of him. He bounced off the bag and landed on his feet; turning on his heel and smacking it into the punching bag before finishing the combo with a series of lightning quick punches and kicks. He finished ending by striking an elbow into the bag. He held his pose for a second then dropped his arm, backing away from the bag.

"Great job, man," Jason Scott said, releasing his grip of the other end. Each blow Tommy delivered to the sack caused him to emit slight grunts, struggling to maintain his grasp on the punching bag. "You have nothing to worry about. You're going to win the competition next week."

"I don't know that for sure," Tommy denied. He brought a hand up, resting it on top of the punching bag. His eyebrows lowered, he shook his head, glossy ponytail flipping up over his shoulder. "Those guys are tough, man. I'm really going to have to work hard if I even have a chance."

"With us there you won't have a problem," Jason reassured him. The red ranger placed a hand on the white ranger's shoulder, gripping the skin taught and shaking him. "We're all going to be there to cheer you on. And you know Kim wouldn't miss it for the world." He watched as Tommy sucked in a quick breath, turning away from Jason.

Jason slowly nodded.

He recognized that look, how many times did Tommy get nervous around Kimberly?

Too many to count.

It was odd considering the two meshed together so well, they had been dating for so long. With a fond smile, Jason remembered the times he had to pose as Kim's boyfriend to make sure a guy wouldn't continue to pressure her into wanting to go out. Nearly every guy that came into her vicinity was attracted to her kindness. Since she and Tommy had gone steady, he could see a distinct change in them and couldn't be happier. Did he find it entertaining to watch Tommy bumble around and squirm when the pink ranger came by? Yes. So the fact Tommy seemed to be down in the dumps, as much as he thought it was funny, he was going to do his best to help his friend.

"What happened this time?" Jason crossed his arms, resting his hands on the opposite bicep. He gave Tommy a long look. "It couldn't have been anything too bad if you're still talking to each other."

"It's not bad exactly," Tommy drawled, his eyes downcast. "Depending on the way you look at it." It was strange, Tommy had a strong sense of justice, doing what was right, and being a leader. Nevertheless, when it was the object of his affections, his insecurities came out. He didn't want to make a mess of something good. He truly did care for her and about her. "We were talking during one of my martial arts classes once, about how we were going to go back to her house after school to do our homework—"

"Sure, if you want to call it that," Jason interrupted with a knowing smile. The corner of Tommy's mouth lifted up in a smirk, making Jason chuckle. He waved the white ranger over to a nearby bench and sat down, straddling it. Pressing a towel to his face and neck his eyes moved across the room to the juice bar portion of Ernie's. Kimberly Hart, Trini Kwan, Zack Taylor, and Billy Cranston were all sitting around, piles of books and papers out in front of them, talking and laughing with each other in between sips of their smoothies.

"That's the problem," Tommy said. He licked his lips once more, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, she kissed me and, uh, I needed to get back to my class. So I was saying that we could continue, uh, hanging out at her place. But the way I said it made it seem like I was thinking of doing something else…" He trailed off, lifting his gaze to meet the red ranger's. Jason looked back at him through squinted eyes; clearly, he wasn't getting what Tommy was trying to point out. Tommy lifted his eyebrow, giving him a pointed stare and a few seconds later, Jason's eyes widened in recognition.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Tommy shook his head.

How could things have gotten so weird between them? Normally he would have been able to talk to Kimberly and clear up the misconception, this time, however, he couldn't find the right words. Kimberly gave the impression she moved on from the topic, though things had become significantly awkward at times. Still, she managed to greet him with a warm smile that accompanied a hug or a kiss on the cheek that melted his heart like it was always did. He just wished he knew what she was thinking every time those silences came between them. He rarely had to consider their struggles in the middle of a monster fight; she was always at his side, ready to help out in any way she could.

 _If only we could be in a monster fight all the time,_ Tommy thought. _Then we wouldn't have any problems._

Jason's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "Well…do you love her?"

Tommy didn't have to think about it for long. It had been on his mind a lot as of late. Whenever he saw the pink ranger a smile would form and he would get butterflies in his stomach. Large winged ones that increased their fluttering pace the closer she got to him, when her perfume lingered on him, or when he saw she was wearing some sort of clothing or jewelry he had given her. He couldn't imagine himself with anyone else honestly, and whereas they were still young, he had never felt that way about a girl before.

Jason took Tommy's silence as the answer he was looking for. "Well, if you really do love her, and I think you do, and I think she loves you, too, then you shouldn't have any problems." He draped his towel around his neck, standing up from the bench. "Besides, I've seen you and Kim go through worse due to some of the strange schemes Rita and Zedd have come up with. If anyone came make it through this, you two can."

"Thanks, man." Tommy stood up from the bench as well, gathering his things. Zipping his bag closed he slung it over his shoulder and turned around, moving to head over towards his friends' table. A cry escaped his lips. He almost walked right into Bailey Mitchell, who had approached them, beaming. "Hey Bailey! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"That's alright, Tommy," Bailey replied with a wave of her hand. "I should have made my presence known." She clasped her hands together, eyes moving back and forth between the two rangers. "I was just making sure we were still on for my lesson this weekend?"

"Of course," Jason agreed. "You and Fred have really been improving. In fact, Tommy and I think it may be time for you to test for a new belt. You've been putting in so much practice and you both work hard."

Bailey's freckled nose wrinkled and her eyebrows lowered. Her dark eyes shifted back and forth behind her glasses, almost of worry, as she planted her hands on her hips. "Um, doesn't it take a long time to go up in belt levels?"

"It really depends on how much you're practicing and for how long," Tommy explained. "You and Fred practice three times a week with our classes if not a private one. Besides, we're saying it's a possibility, if anything we may put you two into a tournament first." He lauged quietly, seeing Bailey's eyes light up before she started to jump up and down.

"Beauty! That's so cool!" She cried in her thick Australian accent. "Thanks, guys!"

"You're welcome," Tommy said. "You deserve it, you really do." He put an arm around her shoulders and the two strolled over to their friends' table, pulling out their chairs and sitting down amongst them. Tommy put an arm around Kimberly's shoulder and leaned into her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. The scent of her perfume, flowery mixed with citrus, wafted up his nose. Combined with the mega-watt smile she then gave him, Tommy could feel his heart swell.

"So, is everyone excited for Valentine's Day?" Kimberly asked the table. "The Student Life Committee is planning on selling flowers and candy again, and I expect to get a lot of money from my friends." She laced her fingers together, batting her eyelashes at the rangers and their technical advisor.

"You can expect a lot from me," Zack said with a raised hand. He grinned, bringing his hands up behind his head, interlacing the fingers. Using his left foot he pushed against the floor so that his chair rocked back on its back two legs. A dreamy look crossed his face, it increased with each passing second. "I'm going to make sure Angela has a great Valentine's Day."

"Oh yeah?" Trini rested her chin in her hand, smiling at his enthusiasm. "What are you going to do this year?"

"I'm going to send her two dozen roses," Zack replied. He dropped back to the floor with a light thud, the only sound that marked his friends' stunned silence. "Everyone usually gets one or two flowers or so and I want to stand out. What girl doesn't like to get flowers?"

Kimberly pointed over at him. "Zack, that's genius," she said. Zack nodded his thanks. "Angela will have to go out with you when she sees how much you care about her. Now,"—she placed a finger on her chin—"you need to write something sentimental in the cards that go along with it. Something masculine but feminine at the same time."

"Is that possible?" Jason asked with a laugh.

"Seems to work for you," Avalon Mitchell announced her presence as she walked over to their table. Dropping her backpack to the ground, she pulled out a chair and sat down next to her sister, who leaning onto her shoulder, laughing along with her. "I mean, what with those long eyelashes you have going on, I'm sure with a little lipstick and blush there would be some guys out there that may find you attractive, yeah?" She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back in her seat, a smirk gracing her features.

"Ha ha." Jason rolled his eyes.

"Hey Av, what's up?" Tommy asked the orange ranger.

It had been almost a year since she had joined the power rangers—if he counted by the school year—and she had managed to become one of the group pretty easily. He remembered the way she used to be when he and the other rangers had met her. She was cold, standoffish, and had backhandedly insulted them each time one of the rangers would try to talk to her and help her fit in. She had been a new student to Angel Grove, transferring from her old school a month after the start of the semester. That had been her story, anyway. It wasn't until she had suddenly burst into battle as the orange ranger that they had gotten the whole story. She and her sister Bailey had been dropped off at the airport by their father three years before, putting them on a plane from Australia to Angel Grove to live with his sister. What they didn't know was their aunt had moved, leaving the two girls stranded on the street. Avalon had gone to try and find them a place to live and had fallen into a bad group.

The street gang the Vipers.

With the Vipers she stole from houses, stores, ran drugs, robbed people, and created damage, anything that would be a way for her to get money to support her and Bailey. Due to her work with the gang she was able to get them an apartment for the two to live in for the three years. It wasn't until Bailey begged to be able to go to school, rather than constantly go to the library to teach herself new concepts, that Avalon had agreed and enrolled them in Angel Grove Middle and High school. Her work as a power ranger was difficult at first, especially as she had started to ditch out on monster battles to run with the gang, or ditch the gang to work on monster battles. The constant stress caused her to lash out even more, pushing her to the edge of exhaustion, though over time she slowly managed to become friends with the rangers. It wasn't until a group of putties were sent to attack them at school that the other rangers found out about the life she and Bailey had been hiding.

After it had been revealed, things had gotten better for the sisters and they had become good friends with the rangers. Bailey was like a little sister to Tommy as well as being Billy's assistant in the Command Center and Avalon was Billy's best friend, one of the girls, and one of the guys, rounding out the group with her sarcastic, witty, and impulsive personality while she enjoyed shopping and going to the mall. The only downside was she was still part of the Vipers, knowing it would end up hurting her or her friends in the long run, despite her friends' pleadings for her to get out.

"Nothing," Avalon replied with a slight shrug. "I just have a lot of homework to do." She rested an arm on the table before pointing over at Billy with her free hand, revealing the 'V' tattoo on the inside of her wrist. A sign she had been a part of the gang and was loyal to them. "Did you know the Cranstons have the rule you need to have _all_ of your homework done before you can 'engage in extracurricular and leisurely activities?" She dropped her hand, rolling her eyes. "It's all I can take to stay awake in school in general, but that's just torture."

Billy shrugged with a pleasant smile. He wasn't offended, having grown up with two college professors as parents as well as his own interest in science and history, he knew the value of hard work and how a good education took precedence over just about everything else. "They just put a lot of emphasis on education; you can't really fault them for that."

"The only time it's worse is when Smurf, over here, starts to nag me about it," Avalon continued. She crossed her leg at the knee. "But I guess that's the price to pay when a family you barely know is willing to take you in, no questions asked." She smiled her thanks over at the blue ranger who smiled back and nodded.

"How are things anyway?" Trini asked, closing her books and moving them aside.

She shifted in her seat, her arm gently brushing Billy's. His cheeks turned a light shade of pink as he bowed his head, his smile widening. The others rangers looked at each other as they exchanged their own smiles. The blue and yellow rangers hadn't been going out long; they were still in the early stages where any sort of PDA seemed to embarrass them more than anything else. Billy more so than Trini; but Billy had always been slower to the affections of girls, despite his charming nature garnering some interest over the years.

"There's something wrong with this picture!" Zack announced. He stood up, pushing his chair back and, with determination, marched around the table over to Billy and Trini. Bending over, he took hold of the legs of Billy's chair, dragging it to the right; this placed it directly flush against Trini's. Billy's face reddened even further when Zack picked up Billy's arm and placed it around Trini's shoulders. "There we go!"

"Zack!" Kimberly admonished.

"Just call me cupid," Zack said. He flashed a beaming smile, rounding the table back to his seat. He dropped down and rested his hands on his stomach. "Isn't Valentine's Day great?"

"It is if you have someone to spend it with," Bailey pointed out. She then held up a finger. "Unless you count the fact it's a thinly veiled commercial holiday which does nothing but promote the message that human feelings should be exploited at least once a year." She cleared her throat and continued. "Not including it's more a sexist holiday than others because of the focus on men having to make all of the romantic plans while the woman just has to get dressed up nicely and follow along with what the man is doing."

"Wow." Tommy laughed. "Remind me to never get into a debate with you."

"That's sound advice," Avalon declared.

"But, I love the candy hearts and all of the chocolate so if I can support the holiday for that, then that's what I'll do," Bailey added with a sweet smile, causing the older teenagers to laugh.

"Oh come on, Valentine's Day is one of the best day of the year," Kimberly declared. "All the candy, flowers, presents, just being able to spend time with the people you love. It's, like, just so heartwarming and nice." With a wistful sigh she sat up, peering into the cup that once held a smoothie. "I'm going to get something to drink, does anyone else want something?" Getting a chorus of no's in response she took her cup and went over to the counter to get a refill.

"Alright, I'll bite." Avalon dropped her feet back to the floor, pointing with her thumb over her shoulder. "What's up with Pinkerbell and her fascination with Valentine's Day?" She held out her hands and overly exaggerated expression of excitement coming to her face. "Please tell me it's because by being born with the last name Hart it made her genetically incapable of being able to dismiss the holiday."

"You got the born part right," Jason replied once he stopped laughing. He put a hand over his mouth and cleared his throat before sitting up and nodding at her. "Valentine's Day is Kim's birthday."

Avalon's nose wrinkled. "Really? I didn't know that?"

She rested her chin in her hand. Great, now she had to think of a gift for her to get. What do you get a girl who was so well off she could afford a new car practically every year? More importantly how was she going to afford it? She didn't have a job. As soon as the obvious thought crossed her mind Avalon's knee started to bounce up and down, her foot tapping against the floor. The answer was so simple; get some of the Vipers together, case a house, and pawn off whatever they found. They were overdue for a money haul anyway and she was sure Chase hadn't scheduled a drug run for a while, not that she was aware of. The benefit of it was it would show the Vipers she was still working along with them as she slowly and surely wheedled her way out of the gang.

Guilt caused a flood of sweat to reach Avalon's palms. She hastily wiped them along the seam of her shorts. Bailey noted her movement and glanced at her for a second, then quickly looked away. Her sister knew her well enough to perceive whenever she was nervous and as of late, her nervousness solely had to do with the Vipers.

"Well, that explains why she's happier than usual, yeah?" Avalon finally found her voice, though her throat seemed to have become lodged. She brought a hand up and rubbed the back of her neck, the muscles felt tight. _I do kind of owe them; I don't have any means to get money either way._

"So what are you going to get her for her birthday, Tommy?" Bailey asked, moving the focus of conversation over to the white ranger. Avalon shot her sister a grateful look, which she gave a half smile to in reply.

"Hopefully something she won't forget," Tommy replied.

"I'll say," Jason agreed. He snickered to himself and Tommy reached out his foot, kicking him in the ankle. Jason let out a cry of pain but continued laughing. He only stopped when Kimberly came back to the table, sitting down again. "Anyway, Kim, what do you want to do for your birthday? We could have a party or go out to dinner or something."

"Anything you want to do," Trini added, reaching out and grabbing onto her best friend's arm. "Even go on a shopping spree if you want."

"You think that's a good idea?" Avalon remarked, lifting her eyebrow. "I mean, giving her that much attention would probably make her head swell even bigger than it already is." Kimberly let out a shriek and tossed a balled up napkin at her. "Relax, Pinkerbell, I'm just kidding." She looked at her watch before leaning over and picking up her backpack. "Anyway, I gotta jet. I need to get some homework done."

"So just stay here and do it with us," Zack protested. "We'll make a party of it."

"Because if I did my homework with you lot, I wouldn't get anything done and I like my freedom," Avalon replied.

She pulled her backpack straps up over her shoulder, doing her best to avoid the rangers’ gaze. It wasn't that she didn't like living at the Cranstons' house, she really did. Mr. and Mrs. Cranston—they insisted on letting her call them by their first names, something she still wasn't used to—were treating her and Bailey very nicely, almost as if they were their daughters. They had a curfew that was meant to be followed—though Avalon had broken it a few times—they had the rule about getting their homework done—just a step down from a set GPA for them to sit at, which Billy and Bailey, of course, blew out of the water—they had chores, as well as had dinner together every night unless plans had been made ahead of time and was also run by Mr. and Mrs. Cranston.

In a way, Avalon felt trapped and free at the same time.

There was a big portion of her that appreciated it, knowing it was a family structure she had craved for the past three years. Nonetheless another part of her was used to running around on her own and making her own decisions, she resented the regulations being put on her. They only paled in comparison to the restrictions she had placed on her by being the orange stegosaurus power ranger.

There were so many parts of her life being applied to other people she didn't remember who she really was and the thought alone was starting to scare her. Enough so it kept her up at night, constant trains of thoughts clacking through her mind as the hours dwindled by. No matter how hectic things became she knew she wouldn't trade anything about it, knowing life was going to get better.

It was just going to take a lot of hard work.

"You coming, Sis?" Avalon turned back to her sister.

"Yeah, I'll come too," Bailey agreed. "Getting all of my homework done and torturing Av while she's still working on hers will keep me entertained for the rest of the day." She laughed, reaching behind her and yanking her hair out from the confines of her backpack. Avalon playfully reached over and smacked her on the back of the head. "Actually, I might go to the Command Center to see what we can do with Steggy. I've got some ideas and who knows what's going to work." She waved. "See you later, guys."

"Later," Avalon added.

She and Bailey left the youth center and started their walk back to the place they had been calling home for the past couple of months. Avalon stuck her hands into her shorts pockets, eyes squinting against the sunlight and as she did so, she felt a twinge of pain by her eye. Extending her arm, her fingers lightly grazed over skin. It stung against the minor pressure. Removing her hand, Avalon noticed foundation smudging her fingertips. At least the other rangers didn't notice she had used makeup to cover the bruise.

 _They would have gone crazy if they found out,_ she thought.

"When are you going to get back?" Bailey asked. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she granted her sister a disapproving frown, having ignored her a few moments before. Avalon knew how much Bailey hated what she was doing, yet she supported her sister unconditionally.

It was all Avalon could ask for.

"Hopefully before curfew," Avalon replied. She reached out and ruffled Bailey's hair. "I have no means to get money before finding a job, yeah?"

"I guess." Bailey stopped and turned, giving her sister a hug. "Be careful."

"I always am." Avalon stuck out her pinky finger and hooked it around Bailey's. She backed away from her sister, crossed the street, and turned around the corner, disappearing from sight.


	2. Time and Time Again

**Chapter 02**

_Time and Time Again_

"Here."

Avalon placed a couple dollars in front of Bailey before sitting down at the kitchen table with her. Bailey looked at it for a long moment before reaching out and taking it in her hand. She studied it as Avalon lifted her foot up onto the edge of the table and started to tie her shoe.

"Thanks," Bailey replied. She gave her sister a half smile. "What'd you have to do to get it this time?" Her eyes shifted over to the mini TV that sat on the kitchen counter. "Anything I need to be told before I turn on the telly and find out myself?"

Avalon laughed, leaning forward and ruffling her sister's hair. "Relax, I had no part in this one, it's just my share of what I got from the others." She then pushed herself back away from the table and leaned down, grabbing onto Steggy and lifting her up onto the table. The mini zord walked around the table a few times before heading over to Bailey's cereal bowl. She made a light squeaking sound before starting to lower her head.

"No!" Bailey shot up and grabbed onto the zord, holding her at arm's length. She then brought Steggy to her face, shaking her head. "Do you want to fry yourself?" She then blinked, lifting her gaze to her sister. "I'm talking to her like she's some sort of dog or something."

"She may as well be," Avalon replied, reaching out to take her. "She keeps messing up my papers." Laughing, Avalon placed Steggy on her shoulder as she got up from her chair. "Anyway, what are you going to get Kim for her birthday?"

"I haven't decided yet," Bailey replied, taking another large spoonful of her cereal. "And you know, it's Kim. There's so much you can get her, because she likes everything." She bobbed her head back and forth. "Good thing is she likes everything so you can't really go wrong. Unless whatever you get her isn't pink."

"I hear ya." Avalon opened the cabinets and looked around for something to eat. "Personally, I think she may need an intervention." She grabbed a box of pop-tarts and closed the cabinet door. Turning around, she looked up as Billy walked into the kitchen. "Catch!" She took out a package of breakfast and tossed it over to him. Billy caught it against his chest and nodded his thanks. "Have you gotten a birthday gift for Kim yet?"

"I'm working on it," Billy replied. "Quite literally," he added, noticing the girls' interested in expressions. A small smile graced his features as he pulled a small mirror out of his back pocket. He turned back and forth, moving the mirror in the same way. "I took a compact mirror and imprinted her initials on the top with a laser point pen I crafted with the highest level laser. Once I have the initials done in a design I'm sure she'd take pleasure in, I'm going to craft it so that the mirror encompasses the planes of her face. It'll let her know, specifically, how much makeup she needs to put on in certain areas of her face for her desired look."

Avalon's eyebrows rose, a corner of a pop tart held snugly between her lips. "Beauty."

"And it'll be voice activated so that she'll tell it specifically which look she wants to work on."

"Geez, if I had a boyfriend like you I wouldn't be disappointed," Avalon remarked. She bit off the corner of her breakfast, replacing the box in the cabinet. "That's an ace idea, Smurf. Very original," she added.

"Can I see the engraving design?" Bailey bounced up from her seat and hurried over to the blue ranger's side. She grabbed onto his arm and tugged on it, resting her head on his shoulder. She stuck out her lower lip, batting her eyelashes up at him. "Please? Please? Pleeeeeease?"

"I'd do it if I were you," Avalon suggested. "Once she gets into her whinging mode like that, it'd hard to get her to stop." Bailey stuck her tongue out at her sister and Avalon stuck hers out in reply. Steggy squeaked lifting and lowering her head. "You're right, Steggy. She is a suck up."

"Am not!"

"It's ok." Billy laughed, holding up his hands. "Here." He handed the compact over to Bailey, who sat down at the table, turning it this way and that, eyes narrowed as she looked it over. Avalon laughed to herself, recognizing it as her 'scientist look', something she always did whenever she was trying to figure out how something worked. Her eyes narrowed and her nose scrunched up, often staying that way for hours as she continued to work through whatever it was she was studying. She had seen that look a lot lately; especially considering the hard work she was putting into trying to restore Steggy to her normal state. "Ava, my Mom and Dad want to talk to us about something."

Wracking her brain, Avalon's face screwed up. She was silent for a few moments, trying her hardest to figure out what she had done to deserve a talking to? She had never been caught when sneaking out or back into the house whenever she had to meet up with the Vipers. She was starting to become more serious with her homework and pulling her grades up, and she had fallen into helping with chores around the house. So what could it have been?

"Alright," She said. Dropping her breakfast onto the counter, she followed Billy out of the kitchen and around the corner. She stopped short, blinking rapidly when Billy stopped as well. "Something wrong, mate?"

"I could inquire you the same thing, especially with the copious amounts of composition that you've been putting on," Billy replied. His eyes moved to a spot on the side of Avalon's face then back to her eyes.

Avalon twisted her mouth to the side then let out a sigh through her nose. It was clear his parents didn't want to talk to her, even if they were at house. She should have seen it coming; it was the oldest trick in the book. At the moment, she wasn't sure if that was true either. _Copious amounts of composition I've been—_ her face cleared and she bobbed her head back and forth.

"So I've been knocked in the face a few times, so what? It's happened before. Anyway, nothing you need to worry or care about," she said firmly. "I'm getting out. I told you lot that already." Her eyebrow twitched for a moment. "I've got it under control."

"I worry about a lot of things," Billy reminded her. "More importantly about whom the next ranger is going to be and whether it'd be someone we can trust." He twisted his mouth to the side. "We told you the story before…how Tommy had been the green ranger under Rita's and Zedd's spell…things were so bad then. We didn't know what to expect or what Tommy was capable of. With his help, he managed to almost destroy our zords, took them over so quickly. I don't know what we'll do if the Ankylosaurus ranger ends up being someone we can't trust." He rolled his eyes. "Or worse, Bulk and Skull."

Avalon gave a light laugh, shaking her head. "And I thought Pinkerbell was the worrywart. We don't want your head to explode you we?" She reached out and tapped him on the forehead. "Wait, is that the only thing?"

No. That wasn't the only thing. How could that have been the only thing? There was so much constantly running through his head, things he was dealing with on his owns, his grades, and being a power ranger, all smacked on top of it. Avalon was sure her own problems were going to bring her a mental breakdown at some point. It wouldn't surprise her if it was sooner rather than later.

"I don't want the team to be let down," Billy replied. "It's the only reason I'm trying to figure everything out. Nothing's worse than having some that's a weak link on the team, it brings down morale and—"

"You're being too hard on yourself," Avalon insisted. "Truly. No one can anticipate any of this happening, no matter how much you work at the Command Center. And the way I see it, we can only figure out what to do when it happens, not before." She waved a hand towards her shoulder, where Steggy had been sitting quietly. "You think you would have been able to anticipate this and the way to fight it? I right doubt it."

Billy shrugged.

"Relax. We're going to the park to have fun today, remember. _And_ because you lot are supposed to get ready for your first football game, so let's go." She pointed a finger directly in his face. "And I propose a worrying ban today. Something tells me you're going to need your energy to impress someone."

Avalon turned on her heel and walked away from the blue ranger, letting out a low sigh. Thankfully he hadn't noticed her tactic. It was easier to change the subject and re-direct people's worries off of her and onto something else that was of greater importance. Anything that would buy her some time while she was able to get everything sorted out. The longer she was able to keep her arms completely extended, holding both lives apart, the greater the chance of her getting crushed in-between. So far she was able to hold her arms up, but it wasn't going to be much longer until her arms gave out.

She clenched her hands into fists.

* * *

 

"So for a bit of a warm-up I thought we could play touch football and then get some plays together that we could use on the field later," Tommy suggested, thumping a football in his hands. He looked around at Jason, Zack, and Billy who all nodded, stretching their arms and legs. "I figured it'd be best so that we can each work on the conditioning for each of our positions."

"Sounds good to me," Zack agreed. He swung his arms back and forth. "I'm ready to go bust some heads open," he added, though the enthusiasm didn't quite reach his voice.

"Your Dad still pushing you on this?" Jason guessed. Zack sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry, man, that must be really disappointing that he's not supporting you on what you really want to do."

"In a way, you must admit that he's just worrying for his future," Billy said diplomatically. He rested his hands on his hips, twisting back and forth. His eyes moved over the park around them. The grass of the soccer field they were using was a nice shade of emerald, showing the meticulous care the groundkeepers put into it. The baseball field a few ways away was filled with little kids and their coaches, working on the batting and pitching. Their shrieks of delight floated across the park towards them, causing Billy to smile. He finally turned back to the other rangers. "I'm not saying it's the best decision for you, I'm just saying some things come to you in ways you don't expect."

"Whatever, man." Zack chuckled as he took the ball from Tommy. He turned and pushed it into Billy's chest. "You're kicking off first." He reached out and smacked Jason on the chest. "Jase and I'll be on a team and you two are on the other." He clapped his hands together then rubbed them gleefully. "And we'll run your butts into the ground."

"Ha! We'll see about that." Tommy faked laughter and the four boys split up to get to their places on the field.

Billy spun the football in his hands before glancing over at the bleachers at the sidelines where the girls were sitting with Fred. The younger boy had been finishing a run through the park with his father when they had run into each other and Tommy offered him to watch them practice. Billy had looked over at Bailey at that moment and noticed that she was trying to hide a small smile.

 _It looks like I'm not the only one that's having problems,_ Billy thought.

Avalon had been right, earlier when she said he had been worried about something other than the Ankylosaurus powers. (It was strange how in so little time she ended up becoming so close to him). He thought of Trini's parents not wanting him to date her had been going through his mind as soon as he heard the words come out of her mouth. Was there something about him that wasn't especially likeable? He had always been nice to them, polite and respectful as he always was with adults. And yet, they were against Trini dating him for whatever reason. That he wasn't good enough for her. That he wasn't Vietnamese. That he wasn't _right_ for her. He never thought things like that still happened, let alone in Angel Grove.

If he hadn't thought there was a chance to change their mind he would have potentially become depressed. If there was anything that being a power ranger hadn't taught him, it was that the longer they fought at something, it usually worked out in the end.

"Billy! Is your head filled with math homework or what?" Jason called, cupping his hands over his mouth.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Zack added.

Billy blinked and turned to look at Tommy. He was couched, hands on his knees, looking straight ahead at Jason and Zack, ready to race forward and grab their flag the next chance he got. Billy's eyes moved back to the bleachers once more, smiling as Trini waved at him and Kimberly, Avalon, and Bailey all cheered their approval for the boys in general. Billy gave a wave in return and turned back to the boys that waited in front of him. He extended the football, took a quick start and dropped the ball at the time he shot out his foot. The football connected with the tip of his foot with a loud _pop_ and went flying into the air. Kimberly's and Bailey's whoop of excitement pierced the air, accompanying Fred's, Avalon's, and Trini's gasps of surprise.

"Great job, Billy!" Tommy congratulated the blue ranger, reaching out and patting him on the shoulder.

They watched as Jason and Zack frantically backpedaled to try and grab the ball before it hit the ground. Billy continued to watch as the ball fell from the sky. Jason reached out his arms and barely managed to grab it by his fingertips before bringing it to his chest. Jason then started to run for the white and blue rangers, keeping the football close to him with one hand, and the other hand extended slightly, ready to push someone away from him when he got the chance.

Tommy and Billy exchanged glances before they took off at the same time, springing towards Jason and Zack. The four boys ran towards each other at top speed, arms and legs swinging as they did so. Billy veered off to the left, ready to take on Jason when the time came. It was all systematic thinking, really. He had been around the other boys long enough to know, mentally what they were likely to do next. Tommy and Jason had the same idea of always going straight for whatever their goal was, and it manifested into their sport playing. He could see the two of them currently sprinting towards each other with a great chance of colliding. Zack, on the other hand, used his energy in small bursts that would have him spin or outmaneuver whomever he was facing; his dance background had helped in that case.

Billy could practically see the moves they were about to make. Jason would charge towards Tommy and throw him off, extending his arm to make it seem like Tommy could grab the ball then pass it off to Zack, who would spin out of the way and sprint across the other end to score the point. Billy wasn't about to make that happen. He spring over to Jason's side just as he and Tommy reached each other. Just as Billy thought he would, Jason extended an arm with the football in it, hoping to catch Tommy off-guard. It worked as Jason brought the ball back to his chest and jumped aside. He didn't expect to find Billy there, waiting for him. The red ranger noticed him there a second too late and tried to use one of Zack's maneuvers to spin out of the way, but lost control of the ball.

Billy scooped it up and raced onto the other end of the soccer field, getting the point for him and Tommy. He punched his fist in the air and turned to give Tommy a high-five.

"That was more effortless than I could have ever considered," he boasted with a bright smile.

"I'll say," Tommy agreed, taking the ball. "If you continue to play like that when it counts, then we're definitely going to win." He grabbed Billy's shoulder and shook him. "You've really improved, man."

"It's all in a matter of knowing your opponent," Billy tossed the ball up into the air, spinning it for a moment. _And clearing everything from my mind._ He shook his head as a flash of the Ankylosaurus power coin came into his mind. _If only I knew the kind of weaponry it had. Then we'd know what we'd be up against, just in case…_ He gave the ball back to Tommy, smiling and nodding at the compliments Jason and Zack threw his way.

"Maybe I should put more effort on our plays," Jason said. His eyebrows were raised with a surprised smile. "I might become half as good a player as you."

"Careful, you don't want him to get a big head," Zack teased.

"Bigger than yours?" Billy shot back with a laugh.

"Nice job, Billy!" Kimberly shouted, bouncing up and down on the bleachers like a jumping bean. "Woohoo!"

"That was amazing!" Fred agreed, pulling off his hat to run his hand through his hair. "I didn't know he could run like that." He turned to the girls beside him, replacing his hat. "Seems to me like you guys are going to see a championship winning football team this year."

"Especially with Tommy being the quarterback," Kimberly boasted. She finally sat back down, lacing her fingers together. "He told me he's been playing ever since he was a kid." She rested her chin in her hand, her smile widening as the boys started up again.

Bailey rolled her eyes. "You can tell who her favorite is," she murmured to Fred.

"Everyone plays favorites, Bay, it's a way of life," Fred replied with a warm smile. He cracked his knuckles. "Just as the sky is blue, the grass is green, and root beer is the best soda that's ever been made."

"I agree on that one, mate," Avalon said. She pushed her hair behind her shoulders in a long ponytail. Tapping her finger with her cheek she turned to the young boy. "Now, what're your thoughts on homework?"

"It's not that bad," Fred shrugged. "As long as I get it done early so I have time to practice my martial arts and stuff."

Avalon sighed loudly, dropping her head. "And here I had hope for you, Fred. Cheers mate." She laughed as Bailey reached out and shoved her sister on the arm. She cast Avalon a slightly disapproving look, her lips pursing as she did so. Avalon rolled her eyes before giving her a knowing smile and the peace sign.

"Tommy and Jason say you're doing a great job with your practices," Trini spoke up, turning from the field as the boys got settled once more. As she turned, she jostled the picnic basket by her legs. Reaching out, she quickly grabbed onto the handle and brought it back to her. "They're even thinking of testing you for your next belt."

"Yeah, Bay told me," Fred agreed. "It's really cool. Dad's happy about it. He says it's the first time I've managed to stay out of trouble for a while."

"Hm. That must be why Jase is always trying to get you to do it, Av," Kimberly teased the orange ranger, lightly tapping her not the head.

"Bite me, Pinkerbell!" Avalon shot back.

"Ooh, so eloquent, Pinky," Kimberly shot back.

Avalon stiffened, feeling every muscle in her body steel. How had she known about the nickname? Chase had barely called anyone by name if not by their gang name, making it harder for those around to be able to catch them. So when had she been able to hear it? Maybe she wasn't careful enough. That wasn't' true, she was so careful it was impossible for her to have messed up so grandly?

"Where'd you hear that?" She asked as calmly as possible, though inside she was seething with rage.

Chase had never been so careless before. She was really going to give him an earful or else she was going to get dragged down into whatever he was doing before she was able to get out. Bringing up a hand, Avalon lightly poked at the side of her face, which had become a nervous habit for her as of late.

"I think she just wants you to know how it feels," Trini replied before Kimberly could respond.

The two rangers looked at each other for a long comment. They had remembered Summer and Chase having said it the one time they met while at the mall, before they had really befriended Avalon. They had been looking for their homecoming dresses when they ran into the Vipers at the mall. Kimberly and Trini had been confused as to why Avalon was referred to as Pinky, especially since there had been no indication that she even liked the color. If they had realized then, that their natural instinct telling them something was off about the group was right, things may have turned out differently.

"In the lamest way possible," Avalon snorted. She stretched out her legs, resting her heels on the ground. "The only way you'll show me how it feels is if it's an annoying nickname. Pinky isn't annoying."

"Better watch out, Fred," Bailey warned her friend. "Soon you're going to have an annoying nickname too. She gives one to everyone."

"Then I'm interested to see what she comes up with," Fred agreed.

Avalon sat up straight. "I like this guy," She declared, putting her arm around Fred's shoulder and shaking him. "We need him around more."

Trini opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off with a loud shriek coming from her mouth. A hand had grabbed onto her arm and pulled her over the back of the bleachers, dragging her o the ground. She looked up in time to see a putty's foot heading towards her face. Bringing her arms up in an 'X' she blocked the blow and knocked it flat on its back. Trini rolled to her stomach and leapt to her feet, holding her hands up in front of her.

"These guys I'd like to see around less," she said.

"You got that right," Kimberly agreed as she stood up. She turned to Bailey and Fred, who had stood up as well. "Guys, get out of here." She then turned back and jumped, moving her feet out of the way as a putty tried to kick her legs out from underneath her.

"But—"Fred protested.

"Don't argue," Avalon interrupted. "These dudes are bad news and who knows what Rita and Zedd are planning on doing." She jumped over the back of the bleachers and clotheslined an oncoming putty to the ground before striking her foot out with blinding speed, hitting it in the 'Z'. She then turned on her feet and elbowed another on in the chest.

"C'mon!" Bailey grabbed onto Fred's wrist and the two started to leave the soccer field, but was stopped as more putties came their way. There was a flash of green light and Gemma, the pink half of the horoscope monsters based off of Gemini appeared along with them. "Watch out!" She ducked down out of the way as a putty leapt towards her and lifted her foot, slamming it to the ground as it arched back down to the ground.

"Kiya!" Fred jumped up and did a split in the air, smacking two putties in the face as they advanced towards him. Using his momentum, he landed on his back on the ground and did a kip-up, managing to hit another putty, lunging towards him with outstretched arms.

Tommy did a spinning kick, knocking the putty that came towards him into the soccer goal behind him. He turned, feeling the flags on his belt getting tugged and did a back-kick into the putty's chest. It flipped backwards onto the ground, flailing to get back up. In that time, a putty flipped over its fallen comrade and grabbed onto Billy's arm, spinning him around. Billy used the momentum of the spin and, as he was flung to the ground, flexed his arm muscles, throwing the putty into the goal post. It hit its face and stumbled backwards, giving Billy the opportunity to flip to his feet and do a cartwheel into a back flip, sticking out his feet and striking the putty in the Z causing it to immediately disintegrate. Jason and Zack stood back to back, lashing out at putties that came their way. With each punch and kick, with each twist of their body they turned, ducking under each other's limbs and striking whichever putt that was coming up on their blind spot.

"Bay!" Avalon called over to her sister. Bailey spun on the ball of her left foot, using the heel of her right to smack into a 'Z' and looked back over at her older sister. Catching her gaze, Bailey nodded and turned to Fred. "C'mon, now's our chance to get out of here!"

"I don't think so!" Gemma's voice came out in a snarl. She turned to the side and held out her hands, shooting out a blast of green energy. Fred pushed Bailey to the ground, covering their heads as the energy blast went overhead. It smacked into a tree, immediately reducing it to ashes.

"Whoa, she's definitely gotten stronger!" Zack cried, eyes widening at the blast. "We really need to step up our game."

"You're right," Jason agreed. He defeated another putty and raced over to Fred and Bailey, who were still trying to dodge out of Gemma's way. "But we have to get them out of here, first." With a flying leap, he kicked Gemma in the side of the head. She let out a cry of frustration and turned back to Jason, striking him in the chest and knocking him onto his back. He rolled onto his side, watching as Bailey and Fred got to their feet and ran away. At least he had given them time to get out of there.

"This would be a formidable time to morph," Billy said. "If Rita's monster was able to reduce Steggy to the dimension of a bird, who knows what she can do to us now."

"I agree," Tommy grabbed onto his morpher, looking around as his friends did so. When he was sure they were ready to go, he held his morpher out in front of him. "It's morphin' time!" Tommy declared. "Tiger Zord!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurs!"

"Power rangers!" The seven all declared once they had morphed. They called out their weapons and charged towards the putties and Gemma. Tommy and Billy tag-teamed on Gemma as the others dealt with the putties. Using his lance as a firm point on the ground, Billy pushed hard with his arms, lifting himself off the ground and vaulted over Gemma. He turned around and slashed her across the face, causing her to scream and fall back.

Tommy unsheathed Saba and caught her on the other side, slashing it about the face. Gemma sent an energy blast their way and while she missed, the force of the blast knocked them off their feet and onto the ground, skidding back to their friends. "Try this on for size!" Gemma called. She sent another blast towards them, this time striking the ground in front of them and knocking them back even further.

"Tommy!" Kimberly called. She let go of an arrow and it struck a putty in the chest. It broke apart in a matter of seconds and she turned and hurried over to the white ranger. "Are you ok?" She kneeled down by his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Billy!" Trini jumped in front of the blue ranger as Gemma moved closer. She whipped out her blade blaster and shot Gemma in the face a few times. As Zack, Jason, and Avalon all leapt forward with their power weapons—the power axe, power sword, and power staff respectively—knocking Gemma back out of the way.

"Something's wrong," Tommy said, a hand to his chest. He struggled to sit up, the effects of the energy wave still running through his body.

"Yeah, this monster really wants us to fight her," Avalon said, tightening her grip on her power staff. She spun it in her hands a few times. "Those energy blasts are really aggro,"

"No, Tommy's right," Billy agreed. Trini managed to pull him up so that he was kneeling. His power lance sat a few inches in front of him. "This would be the perfect opportunity for her to attack us, but she's not doing anything. Her energy blasts weren't close to attacking us either." The rangers all looked over at Gemma, who continued to slowly walk over to them, smiling a sinister smile. "Alternatively, she's her strongest with Nie around. That's where she draws most of her power from. Like twin telepathy."

Zack whipped his head towards the smarter teen. "Are you telling me Rita and Zedd sent out a weaker monster on purpose?"

"Affirmative. They're up to something."

"When are they not, mate?" Avalon reminded him.

"You're too smart for us," Gemma said. She let out a little giggle, bringing her hands up and covering her mouth with her hand. "Why destroy you now when we can destroy you on an even grander scale!" With a shrieking laugh she sent another energy blast their way, sending the rangers back into the opposing soccer goal, falling into a heap. With another scream of laughter, Gemma flashed away.

"What was that?" Trini asked.

"I don't know." Kimberly's voice quivered.

"We should go to the Command Center. See what Zordon has to say," Trini added.

"Good idea," Zack confirmed. The rangers all placed their hands to their belts and turned into their respective beams of energy, teleporting up to the Command Center. Once they arrived, they immediately took off their helmets and started to bombard Alpha, Zordon, and Bailey with a series of questions. Each one flew out of their mouths quicker than the one before, creating a wall of chatter so loud that it caused Bailey to cover her ears.

"Ay yi yi yi yi!" Alpha cried, his arms waving up and down. "Overload! Overload!" He cried. Light bursts of smoke started to pour out of Alpha's joints, his cries coming louder and more frantic. The rangers broke off and Zack walked over, waving his hand around the robot.

"Sorry Alpha," he apologized. "We're just so confused."

"Yeah, why would Rita and Zedd hold back like that?" Avalon scratched the back of her head before placing her free hand on her hip. "I mean, I haven't been with this lot for long, but even I know this isn't right for Rita and Zedd."

"They're right, Zordon," Bailey said. Her nose was wrinkled. "It's like they were…trying to distract them from something."

"Unfortunately, rangers, you're right," Zordon agreed.

A hushed silence fell over the rangers as they looked at each other. Zack continued to wave a hand around Alpha, who had fallen silent as well. "My sensors indicate that Rita and Zedd were indeed trying to get you out of the way." His gaze rose behind them and they instinctively turned towards the viewing globe. An image of Goldar appeared on it. He laughed in an uproar as civilians ran away from him, screaming. The rangers watched, mouths agape. Goldar walked up through a museum, waving his sword and smashing exhibits as putties raced around him, terrorizing those that got in their way. The viewing globe continued to pan over Goldar and his antics as the putties zeroed in on a glass case that held a large, green gem inside it. Goldar walked over and brought his sword up above his head.

With a cry of triumph he brought it down, the sword moving through the glass like butter. Shards flew around, striking civilians as they raced away. They screamed in pain and fear, cowering on the ground. Goldar ignored them, reaching into the now busted case and taking the gem.

"Yeah!" He cried, holding it over his head. "Now Rita and Zedd are one step closer to world domination!"

"Zordon, what is that?" Kimberly turned back to their mentor. She chewed her lower lip. "What did they want?"

"One of the most valuable items in the Angel Grove History museum," Zordon said grimly.

Billy slowly lifted his head. No. No. He did _not_ hear what Zordon jut had to say. It had to have been some mistake. He hoped he was wrong. "Did you say the Angel Grove History Museum?" Billy repeated. His head whipped around and he glanced at the viewing globe once more, watching as footage of Goldar smashing a jewelry case and taking a large green gem out played once more. He brought a hand up to his mouth, shaking his head. "Oh no," he murmured.

"What's going on, Billy?" Trini asked him.

"That jewel he took…it could mean big trouble for us if they use it for what I think they're going to use it for," Billy replied. He brought a hand up to his forehead, starting to pace back and forth. "It's called the Azurite Heliodore and rumor has it that it has the ability of great power." He turned back to the rangers, who all watched him with mixture of interest and concern. "It was found on a distant planet during a space venture and it brought back, later ending up at the museum."

"What does that have to do with Rita and Zedd getting it?" Zack asked. He scratched the back of his neck. "It's like you said, it's just a rumor that it has the ability of great power."

"Anything falling into Rita's and Zedd's hands rumor or not, is so not good for us," Kimberly pointed out.

"Well, what are they going to do with it?" Jason asked.

His eyes were downcast, taking in the information that Billy was giving them. They thought having to deal with the horoscope monsters was bad enough, but now with them having more power…they needed to know the identity of the Ankylosaurus ranger as soon as possible. Looking around at all his friends, he could see they were thinking the same thing.

"With that kind of power, they're capable of anything," Zordon said grimly. "You're going to have to keep on your toes, rangers. Things are far from over."


	3. Private Life

**Chapter 03**

_Private Life_

* * *

 

At the crack of the starter pistol Zack and Avalon started sprinting across the grass, staying up on the balls of their feet as they went. Their arms pistoned back and forth, continuing to propel themselves forward to the white line that sat at the end of the field. They tagged it, turned and started running back. Zack, having longer legs, quickly outpaced Avalon and if it wasn't for being at school, she would have cheated and used her enhanced speed to charge by him.

Jason, Billy, Kimberly, and Tommy cheered for the orange and black rangers as they ran to the end of the field, finishing at two different times. Zack grinned, slowing down as he turned to watch Avalon come back in behind him. She twisted her mouth to the side, placing her hands on her hips.

"That's so not fair, your legs are longer than mine," She playfully complained.

"Everyone's legs are long than yours," Jason commented. "You're just going to have to get used to it." He laughed along with the others as Avalon gave him the finger and she and Zack sat down with them again, taking their lunches back from Kimberly and Trini. "With Zack helping you out for the track team, you shouldn't have any trouble getting on it."

"Definitely not," Zack agreed. He reached out a hand and placed it on Avalon's shoulder, shaking her. "This Kid has a natural talent for running."

"Mm, yeah, must be all of that running away from the police," Avalon joked humorlessly. She crossed he legs, opening the plastic wrap around her sandwich and inspected the stuffing between the two slices of bread. "Or, you know, trying to run away from Kim before she bulldozes you with her desperation to be perfect."

Kimberly stuck her tongue out at the orange ranger in reply. "It's called being determined, thank you very much," she said.

"Yeah, and I'm determined to get a good grade on this upcoming math test," Jason agreed. He had set his lunch aside and was sitting with his arms loosely draped around his knees. "It seems like it's going to be really difficult."

"What's _really_ difficult is figuring out what Rita and Zedd want with the Azurite Heliodore," Trini pointed out. A sobering silence fell among the group. It had been on the backs of their minds ever since Zordon and Alpha had originally mentioned it to the rangers. "I men," she tucked her hair behind her ear. "What sort of power can this gem have that Rita and Zedd want it so badly?"

"Probably nothing we've ever seen before," Billy replied. Zack glanced over at the blue ranger. If he was saying that the gem had a lot of power, then they were probably in more danger than they thought. Anything that came from space was bad news, Rita, Zedd, and their henchmen being the prime example. It was tough enough having to deal with them, a little bit worse when the horoscope monsters came up, and now they have this gem with immense power. "Rumors have it that when the astronauts obtained the gem the first time, during that one space venture, there had been different extraterrestrial beings that chased them back to try and acquire it for themselves."

"So you mean Rita and Zedd could have been chasing it before they started to attack Angel Grove?" Tommy asked. His eyebrows were furrowed together in an expression of serious concern. Every now and then he would lower his head and when he lifted it again, there was only a second of the anger that he was trying to keep down shown in them.

"It's possible," Jason agreed. He waved a hand. "Rita was found in a space dumpster. She and Zordon have been in a battle for _thousands_ of years. As far as we're concerned, this could have been something they had planned for ages." Bringing a hand up, he rubbed his chin. "I think what we should do at this point is plan to continue facing the horoscope monsters and deal with Goldar and them later."

"What's that going to do to help us?" Zack asked, raising an eyebrow. "Standing back and waiting for the power of the heliodore…thing…wouldn't that basically just be us turning Angel Grove over to Rita and Zedd for them to rule with their iron fists." He raised his fists and gave a maniacal cry of laughter to accompany his point, causing the other rangers to laugh as well. "Man." Shaking his head, he leaned back against the grass, resting his hands under his head. "Sometimes I wish we could have an easy day, one day where we didn't have to worry about a monster attack or something being stolen or having to save someone." He closed his eyes.

"When we first became rangers we said we'd protect the city and the earth no matter what," Kimberly gently reminded him. She reached out a hand and shook Zack's arm. "It's a great responsibility, but it's been rewarding so far."

"I know," Zack agreed. He gently opened his eyes, still squinting against the sunlight. "I get that. And I know we've all been saying this a lot, if not just thinking about it. But I wonder what it would have been like if none of us had been rangers and we continued to live the way we do now."

"Then I wouldn't have met you guys," Avalon said almost immediately. Zack opened his eyes fully and turned to look at her. Her voice had gone cold, much like it had been when they first met. Avalon shrugged. "It's not hard to figure out, mate. If none of us were rangers, then there would have been no need for me to be around you guys. Yes, you would have tried to make me feel welcome, but realistically, I would still be running rampant with the Vipers rather than trying to get out."

"Do you really believe that?" Billy asked her with a frown. He looked hurt.

"Don't _you_?" she shot back.

"No one knows what would have happened," Trini broke in, always the voice of reason. Zack figured she could feel the tense energies and it was starting to take its toll on her. She suddenly sounded weary, as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. For Zack, it felt as if it was on his chest. He was already under a lot of pressure from Zordon and Alpha and those in Angel Grove for being a ranger add on school, sports, and just being a teenager in general and he was sure the weight of the world was going to completely crush him at some point. "It's not something we can dwell on…the unknown."

"We can when it comes to Rita and Zedd," Zack pointed out.

"Zack, don't' be such a kill joy," Kimberly chided him.

"He has a right to think about that if it's really that worrying," Jason defended his best friend. Zack felt a smile slid onto his face. They had always been inseparable since they first met, going to each other's houses for sleepovers, went to the movies together, participated in most of the same sports. When they had been in elementary school and first caught the eye of Bulk and Skull they were quick t come to each other's aid whenever the bullies came around. "Just like we all have the right to wonder what life would be like if we weren't rangers."

"Yeah, but would you give it up?" Trini asked him.

Zack now turned to face his best friend, waiting for his reaction. Jason pressed his lips together and slowly shook his head before lowering it. Zack recognized that look; he did it whenever he needed time to figure out how to answer a question. Zack glanced at his watch and rolled onto his stomach, scooping up his bag as he went.

"Well this was a fun conversation and everything, but I gotta jet," Zack said. He shouldered his backpack. "I have to go talk to the track coach and tell him that I'm not joining the team this year." He ran his hands over his hair before giving a winning smile. "But don't stress guys, we've gotten through so much before and we can do it again. No matter what comes flying our way we'll get through it if we work as a team, right?"

"Right!" Kimberly cheerfully agreed.

Zack flashed the peace sign and went back into the school. The hallways were empty, he could hear the students in the cafeteria talking and laughing as they had their lunch. At least, he thought everyone had been in there, turning the corner he found a group of African-American boys huddled around a group of lockers. They hadn't heard him coming until he was by their side. The group then broke apart, all staring at the black ranger, giving Zack the perfect view of one of the guy tucking away a couple dollar bills, the other putting a plastic baggie in his pocket. At first glance, Zack knew immediately that it was cocaine.

His dark eyes lifted to the guy and he gave them a brief nod. "'Sup, guys?" He continued to walk by them.

"Sup," the one with the money said, lifting his head as well. "What's good?"

"Just have some stuff to do," Zack replied. His eyes dipped down towards the guy's pocket once more. That was a mistake. When he lifted his eyes, the guy's face had turned into a snarl. He and the other teenagers all circled around Zack. "You want to ease off? I have to get to Coach Peterson's office."

"You ain't going to tell anyone what you saw, right?" The guy asked.

Zack swallowed hard. Part of him wanted to tell the guys that they shouldn't be dealing, at least not in school. Otherwise it was none of his business. But he knew how drug dealers worked, his uncle had been one and his mother told him stories of random police busts when they had been growing up. It was what made him want to stay away from that life as much as possible. Throwing himself into dance and being a ranger had done a good job of keeping him from being tempted.

Then he felt a hand clap into his and looked down as a little plastic baggie was left in his palm, the group of teenagers walking away. "Just as a 'thank you'. Keep your mouth shut and there's more where that came from."

Zack looked down at the drugs in his hand and closed his hand into a fist, shoving it into his pocket. Turning on his heel he continued to the coach's office, throwing out the drugs in the nearest trashcan as he went.

* * *

 

Avalon leaned out of the way, a cloud of smoke moving into her air space. She lifted a hand, waving it away before leaning forward and scratching at her ankle, shooting Chase a disapproving glance. He shrugged and pulled a cigarette from his mouth, making a show of blowing out another cloud as he did so. Avalon rolled her eyes, stretching out her legs, being careful not to knock into Summer as she scanned over the supplies in front of her.

Supplies.

Avalon had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. It was such a trivial thing; to most people supplies would be considered office or school supplies. To her and the rest of the Vipers, it was guns, knives, brass knuckles, ammunition. A far cry from the normal things teenagers had to worry about.

Moving her eyes around the room, Avalon watched as Chase and Skye focused on the TV in front of them. Like most nights, they were focused entirely on the news. This time, instead of seeing what the High-Flyers had managed to do that night, they were watching to see what the police were doing. Now that the High-Flyers and The Vipers had called a bit of a truce while they waited to see what the police were going to do with them, their focus had shifted. Chase, on the other hand, continued to operate as normally as possible. It didn't faze her, having been 'under his wing' so to speak when she had first joined, she watched his reaction to many different things that had been thrown his way.

He reacted with harshness and cold vigor that would make even a grown man's knees shake. He refused to take 'no' for an answer, and would be quick to get rid of you if he ever had the chance. Avalon wondered if he had ever gone too far, or what he considered too far.

 _Knowing him he'd saw off his own arm when needed and still not considering it too far,_ Avalon thought.

"Summer, shut up!" Chase snapped over the sound of the girl checking the guns for the status of ammunition. "I'm trying to hear what they're saying."

"Well excuse me!" Summer snapped back. " _You_ told me to check the supplies like you've always had me do because I'm the only one you can trust to do it. So kiss my ass, Chase!"

"I'm sure he's done that plenty of times," Skye muttered, twirling a remote in his hand. He laughed, Chase shook his head, Avalon smiled, and Summer rolled her eyes. "I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been woken up because of you two."

"I need something else to do other than running you guys around," Chase murmured. He leaned forward, draping his hands between his legs, watching the TV intently. Avalon turned her attention back to the TV and watched as well. Lots of local news went by; the science fair for the middle school that was coming up, how the city as a whole was going to celebrate Valentine's Day, the plans for arbor day. Then there was a spot where the newscaster spoke about a previous monster fight and thanked the power rangers for it.

Avalon started to smile and did her best to hide it from the others. It was hard enough trying to keep it from anyone at school or anyone close enough to figure it out. She had a suspicion some at school were closer to figuring it out more than others, if Chase had found out, it would be a new world war. He was very receptive to those that would be considered a liability to him.

_"Angel Grove has been rocked tonight with the new of a major drug trafficking ring busted open. Those that were arrested during the sting have different connections to the local gangs as well as to those out of state, though many of them are just Angel Grove's teenagers. As of this moment the police department has no word to expand upon this ongoing story."_

"Dammit!" Chase cursed, dropping his head. He ran his hand over his face then spit the cigarette to the ground, using the tip of his shoe to ground it into ash. Skye turned off the TV and everyone instinctively turned to the clique leader. Chase continued to stay silent for a few moments then exploded with fury; he turned and kicked the front of his armchair, causing it to emit a loud crack, before grabbing it in his hands, lifting it up, and heaving it back to the ground. "FUCK!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Dude." Skye held his hands up, getting off the couch and backing away from his leader, making sure he wasn't hit by any flying splinters. "Calm down."

Chase rounded on him like a rattlesnake, grey eyes ablaze. "Calm down?! You want me to calm the fuck down?" He let out a scream of fury. "Do you not get it? A drug ring was broken up. That was most of the group from San Diego! The other part being from the High-Flyers. I don't give a fuck about them, but their numbers are dwindling just as fast as ours are. Soon we won't have a choice but to join together if we're going to keep ourselves from being completely broken down."

"Don't you think you're overreacting a bit?" Avalon asked, half of her face screwing up. "Yes, there was a drug bust, but when has that ever stopped us before?" She waved a hand into the air. "I mean, even Lance got arrested. But he's in and out of jail so much it's not even funny."

Chase rounded on her, eyes narrowing. "Are you fucking blind?! We're down to _four people!"_ He started to pace back and forth. "We had almost thirty people when we really started to become a major threat around here and now we're down to four." Crossing in front of Summer he brought his foot back and snapped it forward, kicking at the pile of weapons on the floor.

The sound of the gunshot was deafening in the warehouse completely made of metal. Avalon, Summer, and Skye instinctively dove to the floor, moving their hands over their ears, hoping the ricochet of the bullet wouldn't strike them. Chase barely blinked; the crazy look in his eye dimmed slightly as he looked around the room. It was sparsely decorated, the TV and couches and chairs being the only furniture around. The large staircase that was tucked in the corner led up to the other rooms that Chase, Summer, and Skye had managed to turn into, what could be considered a bedroom.

Avalon turned away from Chase, slightly alienated by the way he was acting. He was supposed to be her leader and instead of showing them they had nothing to fear, the he was the one that could continue t drive them towards victory—or whatever their goal was, Avalon hadn't been sure for a long time—he was crumbling under the pressure. Avalon could practically see his mental breakdown forming right in front of their eyes.

Maybe her getting out wasn't going to be as difficult as she thought.

"You." Chase turned and pointed at her. "Come with me." He shot Skye and Summer a dismissive glance. "You two hold down the fort. You know that some of those guys are going to get a plea deal or something that will reveal the rest of us and our headquarters." He bent over and swiped two pistols from the ground. He checked the ammo before tossing it to the two of them. "Only shoot when you have to and make sure it's enough to count."

"Got it," Skye said firmly.

"Good. Because if any of you fuck this up, I'll blow you away myself." Chase took a pair of brass knuckles up off the floor and stuffed it into his pocket before leading the way out of the warehouse. Avalon glanced at her watch once she stepped out into the dark night. She had about an hour left until she had to get back to the house for curfew. _Who would have thought I'd be the one to listen to curfew?_ She thought with a wry smile. It was funny how much the way she thought had changed since she ended up in the hospital for exhaustion and realized just how many good people she had found herself surrounded by. But she knew habits died hard and she wasn't going to be able to completely change her way of life overnight.

Avalon followed Chase over to the beat up Lincoln Eldorado. Rust spots covered the front and sides of the car as if the automobile had managed to contract chicken pox. Chase slid into the driver's seat and Avalon dropped down into the passenger seat, slamming the door shut behind her as she did so. Chase started up the car and quickly pulled away from the warehouse, tires squealing as he did so. As he continued to drive, his foot pressed further on the gas pedal as the seconds passed.

The car started to shake as he continued to speed, weaving in and out of traffic. Tired squealed and horns blared, creating the background music for his pent up aggression. Avalon reached out a hand and grabbed the door handle with one hand, the other landing on her power morpher. It was strange though, the first thing she wanted to do to feel safe was grab her power morpher. At first she had been completely reluctant to be a power ranger; even going as far as to call Alpha and Zordon crazy for thinking she'd be good at it. It wasn't until Bailey had been in danger that she had snapped, wanting to do nothing but protect her and it was always what fueled her drive to keep going.

 _It's not to say I'm right for it. Who knows if I was really destined to do this or if I just stumbled upon it?_ Avalon tightened her grip on the door handle when Chase went flying around a turn, the belly of the car now bumping low over the rock and stick covered ground. The two jostled in their seats, bouncing up and down along with the unpaved roads. Finally he turned the car once more and pulled to a screeching stop, almost causing Avalon's head to smack into the dashboard.

"Are you trying to set the record for a head on collision?" She asked, finally finding her voice.

"At this point I may as well off myself, everything's falling to shit around me anyway." Chase rolled the manual handle for the window, rolling it down before bringing a cigarette and lighter out of his pockets. Lighting the cigarette, the flame illuminated their pair's faces as he did so. Flicking the lid shut, Chase heaved the lighter in the foot well of the car. "But your life seems to be going perfectly. You can go to school and have all of those nice friends around you." He inhaled deeply on the cigarette. "Must be fucking nice."

"It seems like you're enjoying your life just fine," Avalon said, irritation creeping into her voice. "You're the one that's constantly watching me. It's no wonder you got the job at the freaking auto shop down the street."

"Yeah, yeah," Chase murmured. His eyes shifted back and forth for a moment. "What I should be doing is keeping a close eye on you. You keep saying you're loyal to us but you seem to run around the topic as much as you possibly can." He took the cigarette from his mouth and tapped the ashes out of the window. "If I had done that, then you wouldn't have had to worry about your boyfriend getting beat up."

Avalon felt her blood run cold. Not only for because it seemed that people were trying to push her and Jason together when she wanted nothing more to do than completely forget that she had jumped him. But the calm way he had mentioned it, as if he was telling someone he was going to go on a walk, chilled her. The accusation in his tone wasn't lost on her.

"I don't have a boyfriend," she murmured. Avalon slowly turned to look at him, feeling anger build up inside her, eyes narrowing. "Wait a minute…were _you_ the one that beat him up? I fucking swear to God if you did anything—"

"Relax," Chase cut her off. He rolled his eyes. "Jumping someone that has absolutely nothing to do with me isn't my scene, you know that." Avalon's frown deepened. Then her suspicions of it being the High-Flyers had been right. They busted in the door of her apartment, tagged the hallway, and now went on and attacked one of her friends. "Though that kiss that you two shared could have set the ocean on fire." His cheek twitched. "Too bad it didn't work out."

Full blown rage took Avalon over at that point. She sucked in a deep breath, her hands clenching into fists. She could feel her face starting to redden, the tell-tale sign that she was incredibly angry. Chase, on the other hand, continued to smoke. "IS THAT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT?!" She gripped the armrest so hard it started to warm under her hand. A second later it began to smoke and she could feel it melting under her palm. She quickly pulled her hand away, curling her fingers into her palm. Little crescent moons from her fingernails imprinted her skin. "Is that what the threats and the ultimatums and the constant breathing down my neck are about? Because, in case you don't remember, you broke up with me."

Their relationship had been…strange to say the least. He was at least three years older than her, and she was sure that she only liked the attention that he gave her. But she did care about him. Every time they had stepped out of the warehouse was a chance for one of them to get hurt or arrested. He had originally taken her under his wing as a way to be sure she was the right person to bring into the Vipers, as he had done with Skye, Summer, and Lance. Soon they had started spending more time together and it had just happened that they started to 'go out'. She wouldn't even really use that term seriously and knew he absolutely refused to disclose any of his private life to anyone around him.

"I know," Chase agreed. "But that's not why I do it." His eyes narrowed but he stayed silent. Avalon didn't push him any further. She knew him better than the rest of the Vipers did and was very receptive to when he didn't want to talk.

"I don't watch you for the reason you think. We're a family; we're supposed to have each other's backs." Chase twirled the cigarette in his fingers. "Don't be surprised if I'm suddenly not around."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Avalon's hands moved to her power morpher once more. She could have sworn she saw an orange glow come from the power coin. Her hands shook.

"We'll see."


	4. Public Property

**Chapter 04**

_Public Property_

* * *

 

Trini smoothed out the bright yellow vest she threw over her white tank top before leaning over to tie her shoes. Once everything had been put in place, she took her bag from her desk chair and hooked it over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she left her room and went downstairs. She could hear the sound of pots and pans banging around in the kitchen, accompanying the melody of running water.

Biting her lip, Trini glanced at the front door as she continued to inch her way down the stairs. If both of them were in the kitchen, then she could get out the door in enough time to—

"Trini? Is that you?"

Shoulders slumping, Trini went down the rest of the stairs and into the living room where her father was sitting on the couch, surrounded by stacks of mail. When Mr. Kwan noticed his daughter standing in the doorway, he reached his hand out towards her. Trini gave him a soft smile and approached him, placing her hand in his and standing by his side as he smiled up at her. "You would be pleased to know that we may have found the man for you to marry."

Trini tried to keep the smile on her face, but her heart hurt. Since she had brought up that she was going to go out with Billy the first time, though that date had ended because of Rita's and Zedd's well timed monster attack, it was all her parents wanted to talk about.

Her future marriage.

Was there something wrong with wanting to choose the person she married herself? As opposed to having it all arranged for her and hoped things worked out for the best? Trini lowered her gaze. She knew even if she didn't particularly like the man her parents chose for her, it would bring great disgrace if they were to get divorced. That much was certain. She only wished they would listen to her and understand she wanted to do a lot of things before getting married.

She wanted to date Billy.

"Strong values and knows the utmost importance of family," Mr. Kwan continued as if not noticing Trini's silent despair. He reached out his hands and gently cupped her cheeks. "You will be very happy with him. You are to meet him soon."

"I'm sure he's very nice," Trini agreed. She brought up a hand and placed it on her father's, squeezing it gently. Then she dropped his hand and took a step away from him. "I'm going to be late meeting my friends if I don't get going. We're going to the mall." As soon as the words left her mouth, the sound of a car horn honking reached her ears. "That's my ride," she continued.

"If its Kimberly, tell her your mother and I say 'hi'," Mr. Kwan said. A light then reached his eyes. He started to chuckle. "Also tell her that if she's looking for someone to marry, we can help her out."

"Bye, Daddy," Trini said, a little more forcefully this time. To push away the instant wave of guilt she received, she leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek, giving him a quick hug before hurrying out the door. After stopping to close and lock the door behind her, Trini hurried down the front steps and across the lawn, practically throwing herself into the passenger seat of Jason's car as he pulled away from the curb.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" He laughed, turning his attention to the road. "You don't have Rita on your ass do you?"

"I wish," Trini murmured in reply. Raising a hand to her forehead, she sank low in the seat. That was another rule she was breaking—always have perfect posture. It showed you were ready to listen to whoever was talking to you and showed you were attentive. At this point she was ready to knock down anything that came her way, especially if it was one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters. "There's just…a lot going on at home, lately." She ran her hands over her face.

Jason made a sound of agreement. He tilted his seat back, holding one hand on top of the steering wheel, the other laying in his lap. "It seems to be getting harder lately, huh?"

"At least you're not the one that's right under your parents' thumb," Trini said. She then moved a hand up in front of her mouth. "I'm sorry, that sounded a bit bitter," she said. "I guess I really wanted to get this out." She turned to look at him. "My Mom and Dad want to arrange someone for me to marry. They aren't particularly happy that I'm going out with Billy now."

Jason's face scrunched up into a look that seemed to be a mixture of horror and confusion. He brought his free hand up to his mouth, covering his lips for a second before dropping it once more, shaking his head. Trini was glad he didn't have a lot to say about it, it was what she needed. She didn't need a big reaction to the news like Kimberly had. Trini smiled a little as she remembered it. She had told the pink ranger after the monster battle at the beach that day. They had packed everything up into their cars and were starting to leave when Kimberly had said, "It totally sucks that yours and Billy's date had to be cut short. You two looked like you were having a good time."

"We were," Trini agreed. "Things were kind of different," she admitted. "Like, I felt we were still comfortable with each other like we always have been. But…things felt better, I guess." She ducked her head. "I don't know."

"Aww, you're blushing," Kimberly teased, reaching out and poking the Vietnamese girl on the cheek. "You two are totally cute together, it was only a matter of time until you realized you should go out." She clasped her hands together. "And to think it all started when he asked you to the homecoming dance."

"It might be the last one he can ask me to," Trini said. She let out a heavy sigh, noticing Kimberly's confused stare. Trini leaned towards her, resting half of her body on the back of Kimberly's corvette, and lowered her voice. "I told my parents that I was going out with Billy today…and they're not happy with it."

"Well, our parents aren't happy with everything we do," Kimberly said, trying to be helpful.

"No, I mean, they feel like it's an attack against their culture," Trini said. "They want to arrange a marriage between me and whomever they chose for me to have as a husband." She said. Kimberly's eyes widened for a moment before she reached out and grabbed onto Trini's arms. "Well you don't have to do that," she laughed a little.

"What do you think about it, though?" Kimberly slid her hands off the yellow ranger's arms and jumped onto the trunk of her car, crossing her legs at the knee. "I mean,"—she ran a hand through her hair—"I would hate it if my Mom said I couldn't date Tommy because she wanted to arrange my marriage for me."

"It's something they've been talking to me about since I was a little girl," Trini explained. She did her best to keep herself as calm as possible though felt she was on the verge of breaking down. The frustration associated with that topic had been something she felt since he was a little girl. But now that it was really starting to happen, it was taking more out of her than she thought it would. "So it's not like I didn't expect it at some point, I just wish they would listen to what I want rather than immediately pass it off."

"I know." Kimberly put her arm around Trini's shoulder. "But you know what this mean?" She tapped Trini on the nose. "This means you have to show your parents how special Billy is to you." She rapidly raised and lowered her eyebrows and the two girls had collapsed into a fit of giggles.

 _If only things were that easy,_ Trini thought, crossing her legs at the knee. The last thing she wanted to do was disappoint her mother and father, but she wanted to be able to live her own life. When was that going to happen? Trini suddenly jumped, sitting up straight when Jason suddenly slammed on the breaks, stopping short as the car in front of them accelerated at top speeds.

Jason leaned his head out the window and stuck his middle finger up in the air. "Why don't you watch where you're fucking going next time?" He shouted after the driver. Trini's eyes widened in surprise. She had never heard Jason that upset before, only when he was opposing Rita and Zedd. But now here he was hands tightly clenched into fists, cheeks flushed, and a harsh glare out the window as he slightly shook his head. "Idiot driver doesn't know what he's doing."

"Jase, are you ok?" Trini asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Jason turned back to her, blinking once, then smiled warmly. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He titled his head back towards the road. "Apart from almost having the grill of my car crumpled in, I'm fine." He brought a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck. "Listen, if you ever want to talk about it—"

"It's alright," Trini said quickly. "I can handle it." It was just something she wanted to work through on her own. She knew the value of friendship and having her friends help out with her problems whenever the time came—many of the monster fights she had been in were only won when all of them fought together. But this was something she had to deal with one her own and she would. She just really needed to figure out what her top priorities in life were.

Before becoming a ranger, her dream was to be able to open her own dojo if not some sort of a health spa; so that she could pass on her training and healthy lifestyle to those that would listen to what she had to say. She practiced her fight moves every day—though not to the same extent as Jason or Tommy—she worked hard on her spirituality and how she took in the energies of the world and people around her. Becoming a ranger had increases that drive for her; however it also made her realize that she had to make a lot of sacrifices in life. Maybe her happiness was one of the ones she was going to have to make.

"Still if you ever need to, the offer is there," Jason continued. He gave a half smile, showing his teeth. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Is it?" Trini raised an eyebrow. Jason looked offended and Trini laughed out loud, pushing the thought of her parents away. "Who was the one that spilled the beans on Zack's crush on…Chelsea…in the second grade?"

"Zack," Jason insisted. At Trini's disbelieving snort, he smacked a hand against the steering wheel. "I'm serious! Zack's the one that can't keep a secret! He basically told the whole world about his crush, I never had to do it myself. And,"—he held up a finger—"he's the one that told everyone that Kim peed her pants on the fourth grade field trip to the zoo. So Zack's the one that can't keep a secret."

"He's kept this one," Trini reminded him quietly.

They didn't have a choice but to keep their powers a secret. Who knew what everyone was going to say once it got out? Would they be treated the same? Would they be cast into exile? Treated like they were celebrities? She couldn't bear the thought of what Rita and Zedd would do with the information if they the whole city of Angel Grove figured out they were rangers. Their parents had been attacked once—enough so that they rangers gave away their power coins just to get them back—who knew what other lengths the two masters of evil were going to throw their way next.

Now that they had the Azurite Healiodore...

 _No._ Trini shook her head. _Today is going to be fun. Don't think about the negativity._ She took a cleansing breath, allowing her shoulders to slump as they released the tension she had been holding. Jason pulled into the parking lot and the two climbed out of his car, Jason wincing and grabbing onto his shoulder as he did so.

"Guess those guys got me more than I thought," he said, noticing Trini's worried glance. "I've been trying to make up the time I've missed while being in the hospital. Guess I started out too quickly."

"You know what you body will allow you to do," Trini explained. She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "Don't try to push it." Jason winced and Trini giggled, pulling her hand away. "Oops. Sorry." Jason reassured her that it was fine and the two went into the mall, heading to the food court to meet up with their friends. Trini first spotted Bailey as she was conversing with Tommy about something, animatedly moving her hands, Tommy listening in rapt attention, nodding every now and then if not smiling. Kimberly stood at their side with a proud smile on her face, watching the two. Billy, Zack, and Avalon were sitting on the edge of the water fountain, patiently waiting. "Hi!" Dimples appeared in Trini's cheeks as she walked over to her friends.

Eyes landing on Billy, she went over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Billy smiled back at her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. It was a hesitant one at first, but then as seconds passed he held her tightly. Trini rested her cheek on his shoulder and hugged him back. That was definitely what she needed at the moment. To know that someone cared for her and her feelings and what she thought about the situations she was put in. Billy had always been one of her closest friends, having her back whenever she needed it and her doing the same for him.

Billy's hand started to rub her back, sending shivers down her spine. For a brief moment Trini wondered what it would be like if she kissed him. Would he kiss her with as much passion as he was holding her with? Or would he continue to slowly move out of his shell and having a girlfriend? What would his lips feel like? Probably—

"Uh, guys?"

Zack's voice snapped Trini out of her thoughts and she stepped away from Billy, turning to greet everyone with a wave. Zack crossed his arms, smirking at the blue and yellow rangers. If there was anything he enjoyed more than dancing playing video games, and hanging out with his friends, it was teasing people, and the new couple seemed to be his new target.

"If you're done we need to get our suits and stuff," Zack continued, pointing with a thumb over his shoulder.

"Does the dress code have to be so classy?" Avalon questioned, wrinkling her freckled nose. She was playing with the sleeves of a flannel shirt tied around her waist. "Last I checked this was a dance, not a formal dinner."

"Well, once you plan and run the preparations for a dance yourself, you can, like, choose the dress code," Kimberly teased, reaching out her hands and ruffled her hair. Avalon batted her hands away and smoothed down her hair as Bailey laughed.

Avalon gave a playful pout, turning away from the pink ranger.

"So we'll meet back here in about an hour?" Kimberly asked, looking at her watch. "It should be enough time to get everything we need."

"Or to at least completely the top floor," Zack murmured.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Jason agreed. The two rangers clamped their mouths shut when the pink ranger turned and glared at them. Jason held his hands up defensively until the shorter girl turned away. He then mimed letting out a huge breath, wiping sweat off his forehead, causing the boys to laugh.

"Let's get out of here before these boofheads do something they may regret," Bailey suggested to the girls, pushing her glasses up her nose. "You know, like, continue to breathe." She laughed along with the girls and they turned on their heels, leaving the boys behind and walking to the first dress shop they found. Bailey walked around racks of dresses, running her fingers over the fabric of each one.

"What do you think?" Trini pulled a golden dress off of a rack and held it up in front of her. It went to her knees and had cap sleeves, with a large black belt in the center.

Bailey smiled and nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears. "It looks great," she said honestly. "I'm sure you'll look lovely in it."

"Lovely?" Avalon repeated, her head popping up behind a rack a few feet away. "Since when do you use the word 'lovely' to describe something?" She walked around the rack, holding onto three pairs of boots. "Ace and Beauty, sure, but lovely?" Bailey stuck her tongue out at her sister and Avalon did the same before looking at Trini as well. "She's right though."

"I'm _always_ right," Bailey bragged.

"You're always a pain in my ass, too."

"It takes one to know one."

Trini laughed, sitting down on a nearby bench. Avalon sat down next to her and started to change her shoes. She held out her sneakers and Bailey dutifully took them, tucking them under her arm. Trini smiled a little. "Is it hard having siblings?" She asked, resting her chin in her hand. "I've always wanted a brother or sister."

"It sucks," Bailey said automatically. "Especially being the youngest. I'm always being told what to do and being dragged somewhere." Her face softened and she smiled at the orange ranger, who beamed back. "But she knows that I'd kill for her any day of the week."

"And I know she always has my back," Avalon agreed. She pulled on a pair of boots and stood up, inspecting the heel as she did so. "No matter what stupid thing I've done to her or for her, I know I could come back home late and night and she'd be sitting on the stairs, waiting for me to get home." She reached out and grabbed Bailey into her arms, blowing a raspberry onto her shoulder.

"Ew! Stop!" Bailey pretended to try and get out of her sister's grasp.

Kimberly giggled as she walked over to the group, three dresses draped over her arms. Each one was a different shade of pink but didn't quell the bright shade she was going for. Avalon's left eyebrow lowered, her left one rising as she looked over the selections.

"What do you think?" Kimberly held her arms up, hangers hooked onto her arms, draping the dresses.

"I think you'd look like Pepto Bismol, mate," Avalon said bluntly. Bailey moved her hands up over her mouth as she laughed. Trini laughed quietly at Kimberly's pursed lips. She tried her best to hide it then smiled up at her best friend.

"They're all beautiful, Kim," she said honestly.

"Thanks, Trin." Kimberly made a show of sitting down on Trini's other side, putting her arm around the yellow ranger's shoulder. "At least I know who my true friend is." She then let out a shriek when Avalon reached over and pinched her on the arm. "Ow! Av!"

"What?" Avalon gave an innocent smile. "I thought your favorite color was pink."

Trini couldn't help but feel herself breaking out into hysterical laughter. One thing she knew for sure, no matter what her parents thought about the things she did, her friends, her _real_ family was always going to be there for her.

* * *

 

Avalon frowned, eyebrows lowering. She chewed her lower lip, running the words through her head once more. She knew the risk she was taking with the decision she had to make. "I just want to be sure what my options are," she said slowly, trying to stall for time. She actually knew exactly what her options were, to take everything the Vipers had done into her own hands and get charged or take a plea deal and explain everything the Vipers had done.

 _Yeah, like that's going to happen,_ Avalon rolled her eyes, allowing her dark hair to fall over her face. Maybe if she hid from the police officer and Mr. Scott, who was now her active lawyer. She had no idea how that was going to be paid for, of what he was going to be able to do to help her. She knew Jason had something to do with it, he and the others had said when she was lying in that damned hospital bed they would do their best to help her and Bailey and they were keeping that promise. _Chase already agreed to the deal I asked for, and now I have to make a deal with the police? How ironic._

Avalon closed her eyes, clenching her jaw so hard her forehead started to throb.

"At this point, Miss. Mitchell," Officer Puckett said slowly.

"Avalon, please," Avalon interrupted with more bite than she intended. That didn't stop the smirk that slid onto her face when Officer Puckett sucked in a deep cleansing breath so hard his nostrils flared. She had been getting on his nerves for the past twenty minutes as they had gone around and around in a circle as she tried to delay her decision.

Take the blame or place the blame on someone else?

Either way she was going to be the one that paid for it in the end.

"At this point," Officer Puckett reiterated, being careful not to use her name. Avalon's smirk widened. "You know your choices and you're just wasting our man power. We know that you have a special case, especially considering what's happened with your parents and how you ended up becoming abandoned."

"I've already seen that Lifetime movie, no need to bring it up again, mate," Avalon said.

Mr. Scott held up a hand as Officer Puckett placed his hands on the desk in front of him, curling his fingers into his palms. He glanced down at the orange ranger as she sat slouched in the chair beside him. Her butt hung half off the chair, legs crossed at the knee, arms crossed over her chest. Her lower jaw was jutted out in defiance.

"What is it that'll come with her taking the charges herself?" He asked then motioned to the pad and pencil that sat in front of her. "And I mean specifically. How long each one will last and whether or not this is going to be taken to court."

"Considering what Avalon has told us that the Vipers have done," Officer Puckett mumbled. He flipped through his own notebook. "Or better yet, what she has done while in the Vipers including spray painting graffiti, robbery, instances of aggravated assault and misdemeanor drug trafficking…" he closed the front of the notebook once more. He was silent for a long moment, bringing a hand up and running it over his face. He appeared to be exhausted, more so than the others and Avalon wasn't sure if it was because he just wanted to get rid of her or if he was really trying to help her.

Glancing up at Mr. Scott as he sat patiently beside her, Avalon couldn't help but wonder what it was like to have a father who tried to help her as much as he was. He didn't appear to be the lawyer type, she had noticed upon meeting him for the first time. His muscles were too large and he had such an intimidating face, he appeared to be the one destined to be in the police force. Officer Puckett had a calmer demeanor that made her a bit ill at ease if she was quite honest.

Avalon ran her hands over each other, her eyes staring directly into the gray of the man that sat across from her. That was her bad habit; really, she was never able to sit still. Either that or her blatant mistrust of anyone that could potentially screw her over, that ranked high on her list as well.

Of course things would have been different if Captain Mitchell hadn't shoved her onto a plane to live with her Aunt if the Aunt had still been around. But if he found out what she was going through now, if there was any way for him to know, would he come to her rescue?

 _Every girl deserves to have a prince to come and save her,_ Avalon thought. _I'd give anything for Dad to be here._ She had always been a daddy's girl. Before Bailey was born Avalon wanted nothing but to run home from school and rattle on and on about every little thing that happened to her while he sat and listened, pretending to care what was going on with an elementary school student's day. Did he care that a boy in her class had pulled her hair? Probably not. But he still took the time to listen to everything she had to say.

"Considering we know who the leader of the Vipers is…but have no proof he was indeed involved in the crimes or told her to do…" his eyes turned back to Avalon. "Considering she hasn't changed her story, she will be on probation for quite a while as well as needing to fulfill hours of community service."

Avalon moved her jaw to the side. What did that mean for her deal with Chase? She would do whatever it was he asked her to do, as long as her sister wasn't in danger, her friends were in danger, and he let her go as soon as he had no use of her anymore. How was she going to be able to do that when she was on probation? God knows she'd probably have to get an ankle bracelet on or something.

"And that's not also including the fact that her name will more likely than not be put in the paper," Officer Puckett continued. "Which could bring some public backlash to you."

Avalon waved a hand.

"Just be aware that because of the representation that Mr. Scott has done for you, your sentence has been reduced greatly as well as the situation you're in putting this case in an interesting light," Officer Puckett finally said. His eyebrows quirked. "That is, if you have decided to continue with your story, that you acted alone."

Avalon slowly nodded. "I acted alone," she said.

Her voice sounded foreign to her ear, as if she had become partially detached from the situation and was watching everything from high above, near the ceiling. It was the decision she had to make and she made it. Now she had to live with the consequences.

"Alright." Officer Puckett started to write himself a note. "You are to report to your probation officer as well as to submit to random drug tests when the time comes." Avalon nodded. "As well as needing to report for your hours of community service and as soon as we figure out the area you'll take those hours, we'll notify you. Please be aware this will make getting a job harder, but as soon as the hours and your probation are cleared, you'll be back to being a model citizen."

 _Model citizen? Yeah, if you expect a yobbo to be a model citizen._ Avalon resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she stood up and held her hand out towards the officer. He shook her hand as well as Mr. Scott's before leading the way to the door to his office.

"I hope things turn out well for you, Miss—Avalon."

"Thanks." Avalon followed Mr. Scott out of the office and through the winding halls of the precinct.

"Don't look so down," Mr. Scott chided, glancing over his shoulder at her. He seemed to have sensed her discomfort. Her eyes darted to every officer that came her way. For the past three years she had done her best at keeping away from them, now they were so close. "This is the best opportunity for you. You just need to show them that you're not a threat to anyone around you. You're in a stable home, you're around good people, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to keep that life around you."

Avalon tilted her head back to look up at Mr. Scott as he towered over him. "I bet you're grinning like a shot fox that your son is one of those people, yeah?"

Mr. Scott turned and looked back at her. "I'm not intimidated by you," he said bluntly to her. "I'm around people like you all the time." He sniffed loudly. "The only difference is that I can tell this isn't the life you want. I can see your potential. You just have to realize it here," he pointed at her heart.

"I'm trying," she said to her scuffed sneakers. "It's not easy—"

"No one said it would be, Avalon." Mr. Scott crossed his arms, his muscles constricting inside his gray suit. "You have to stop treating yourself and everything around you like it's something you can blow off if it doesn't come to fruition as quickly or in the manner you want. It takes more than just trying. You have to do it."

Avalon nodded.

Now that she had that out of the way, she needed to figure out how to keep Chase from killing her. Literally. Thank God she still had that pistol he had given her before.

Hopefully she didn't need to use it, but who knows what the future would bring.

No, she decided. Her inability to sit still and general lack of trust wasn't her biggest flaws. It was her constant self-doubt that was the problem.


	5. Happy Birthday, Kim

**Chapter 05**

_Happy Birthday, Kim_

* * *

 

 _Thank God,_ Bailey thought, gathering her books together as the bell rang. Finally it was time for the weekend. And while her sister was going to the Valentine's Dance that night, while also simultaneously celebrating Kim's birthday, she could have the house to herself for a bit. She was still excited for the weekend; Avalon had promised they would spend some time together, just the two of them.

For someone without a Valentine she was pretty content.

Bailey hugged her books to her chest as she blended in with the mass of students trying to get to their lockers and leave for the weekend. Heart shaped balloons, and pink, white, and red streamers festooned the locker fronts and walls alike, creating a dreamlike atmosphere around them. Bailey arrived at her locker, waving at a few girls that walked by as they had just left her class as well, ands started to put up her books.

It wasn't until she heard a dull thump beside her that she realized Fred had come from his class and was talking about…something. She hadn't even heard him arrive. Instead she flashed him a smile and started to pack her backpack; half listening to his story as she did so. Her mind wandered to Rita, Zedd, and Goldar, as it had been doing lately. There were so many things they didn't know about and that's what she couldn't stand, not having any answers. It was the scientist in her; she had an insatiable need to figure out what it was that was going to put the rangers on top.

And she was sure it would start with the Heliodor.

"So now all I have to do is give up my soul for the next two weekends to help him out at his next construction sight," Fred said, leaning against his locker, arms crossed and foot resting against the metal door. He took off his hat and scratched his head. "Which is a small price to pay; the guys there always enjoy having me around."

 _Oh yeah, that's what he's talking about._ Bailey giggled to herself. _How he got grounded._ "Wow." Bailey rolled her eyes. "Hard to believe this only happened because you let a rabid raccoon into the house."

"I didn't know it was rabid," Fred defended himself. "And it's not my fault that it was attracted to the smell of our trash compared to everything else." He pushed himself off the locker and turned to face her. "Speaking of my Dad, you've haven't met him yet." He shifted his shoulders upwards in a shrug that was supposed to look nonchalant, but appeared stiff. "Is there something wrong?"

"No…" Bailey said slowly.

She turned back to her locker, wracking her brain for an excuse. She was so smart and she couldn't even come up with a good lie as to why she had been avoiding that. Bailey briefly closed her eyes. If she met him, then he'd ask about her parents and at this point that was the _last_ thing she wanted to talk about. Especially considering she didn't remember them very well. Just a few things here and there. Maybe she had blocked it out with the fear and anxiety that had surrounded her for the past three years. She was still trying to adjust to everything.

"It's just that I'm always so busy," she said. "And you know Av's always on my case."

"What could you possibly be so busy with?" Fred asked with a light laugh. "I mean, yeah you have lessons with Tommy and Jason. But you breeze through homework so quickly, you disappear for hours on end basically every day and you always have an excuse for it." He twisted his mouth to the side. "It just makes me wonder if you don't like me or something." He gave a hollow laugh.

Bailey's shoulders slumped, pressing her face into bottom of her locker. _What's that supposed to mean?_ She could feel her face starting to turn red as confusion rocked her guts. Did that mean he liked her? As in _like_ liked her? How did anyone know, anyway? Yeah, she liked Billy at one point, and yeah she had been a bit crushed when she realized that he was with Trini, but she chalked that up to enjoying the attention he gave her. There weren't many people who were as smart as she was, or understood her when she went off on a tangent. Avalon tried and understood for the most part; though Bailey always noticed her eyes glaze over after a certain amount of time.

But Billy would always sit there and listen patiently to her, even giving his two cents whenever it came to her thoughts on something in the Command Center or about a school project. Not to say that the rest of the boys weren't great to her as well. Jason was really patient when it came to her martial arts practices, helping her along as long as she needed until he was satisfied with her progress. He always had a kind word for her when she was discouraged. Zack was always fun to be around; he made everyone laugh and always had a smile on his face. Even when he was serious it wasn't long before he was back to the bright smile. Tommy had become like a brother to her, he was always looking out for her and was the first to volunteer his time if she ever needed a 'babysitter'.

Her lips curling made Bailey appear more like her sister than ever. She knew Avalon wanted someone to look after her only based off of her own fear that she would bring harm to her sister. And Bailey understood that, sometimes she wished she was able to help more rather than being stuck in the Command Center and watching everything.

"Well that answers my question," Fred continued.

Bailey detected a note of frustration in his voice and let out a heavy sigh, lifting her head. Why did being a teenager, or growing into one, have to be so confusing. She wasn't even sure where she would be living within the next year if anything else happened, or what she was going to do about returning Steggy to normal size, or how they were going to finally defeat Rita and Zedd. Her theory of getting their wand and scepter was a good one; however she had no idea how to get them away from them, let alone the new drama of the Azurite Heliodor.

 _Now I know why Avalon hates having so much pressure put on her,_ Bailey thought. She stepped back from her locker door, closing it with the pressure from her index finger. She looked hard at Fred as he turned away from her, hands in his pockets, though he still hadn't moved from her side. "I didn't say that," she said.

"You didn't have to." Fred's eyebrows furrowed together as he turned back to her. "Also considering the fact you're always running off somewhere whenever we hang out."

Bailey resisted the urge to stomp her foot on the ground like a little kid. "I can't help that!" She protested. "Stuff comes up!" She brought her hands to her face, scrubbing at it with her fingers. "You're, like, the only friend I have here, mate. I wouldn't waste my time if I didn't think that…" she broke off, feeling her face enflame once more. _Think what?_ She asked herself. Fred's look of frustration melted into a shy smile, tilting his head down so he looked at his feet. His cheeks were pink as well.

"It's ok," he said quickly.

Bailey tucked her hair behind her ears, trying to figure out what else to say, but had no idea what was going to relieve the tension between them. She got her prayers answered a second later, when a hand landed on her shoulder and she was pulled around. Bailey blinked for a moment, trying to place the girl, and then recognized the girl as someone in her History and Math classes. Bailey's eyes lowered to the purple and white letterman jacket that seemed to swallow her frame and she swallowed thickly.

What was going to happen now?

"Tim wanted to be sure this got to your sister," The girl said, placing something hard into Bailey's hand. Bailey nodded, immediately putting it into her pocket. She could feel Fred's questioning gaze burning into the back of her head. "And to warn her about what had gone down the other night."

Bailey nodded. "I heard," she said stiffly.

"Yeah, well, just make sure you all keep an eye out," The girl continued, twirling the end of her ponytail around her finger. "We don't need any more trouble. Not when we're supposed to be working together on this thing."

"Right." Bailey's stiff responses must have given the girl the hint, for she dropped her hand from her ponytail and started to walk away. Bailey chewed her lower lip for a moment. "Actually, can I ask you something?" The girl turned back around, waiting, eyebrows rose. "Why'd you decide to…uh…how did you—"

"It's a simple answer, really," the girl said with a fleeting smile. "They're my family and we have each other's backs." She gave a short wave then walked out of the hallway. Bailey let out a breath through her nose, pressing her lips together firmly. She got the answer she had always been looking for, but it still didn't make things any clearer.

"Your sister hangs out with them?" Fred's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

Bailey turned back around to face him. "Not exactly," she said and left it at that. Her eyebrows then furrowed together. "Why? Have you heard of em'?"

Fred continued to stare hard at them. "I don't know anyone in Angel Grove who doesn't. That's what the city curfew had mainly been put up for…for the most part." He scratched the back of his neck. "That's what Dad told me anyway." He brought his hand to the strap of his backpack. "So do you want to put the finishing touches on our project or do some homework or something?" He held up a hand. "I promise my Dad won't cramp my style, but he really does want to meet you."

"Why?" Bailey asked warily. She cursed herself. Her sister really did have more of an influence on her than she thought. That wasn't so much of a bad thing; Avalon helped her stand up for herself, to not be quiet about her passions, and how to deal with other people. Sure there were some unorthodox ways she ingrained them into Bailey's head, but it was needed all the same.

"I don't know!" Fred threw his hands into the air, rolling his eyes. "Maybe because he wants to meet my best friend?"

Bailey laughed, taking her backpack out of her locker. "On valentine's day?" She asked, her voice cracking at on the last word. She brought a hand up to her forehead, her face enflaming even further. It wasn't just her cheeks that turned red, but her nose as well. She absolutely hated it when she blushed simply for the fact that her nose would resemble a grape tomato.

"Why do parents do the things they do?"

Bailey was about to respond, then realized that she wouldn't know the answer to the question. Growing up, she had known nothing other than loving parents that doted on her, then for the past three years those happy memories had been washed away. Bailey smirked at Fred, lifting her backpack onto her shoulders. She wasn't going to allow any of that to affect her anymore. Not when there were more pressing things to worry about.

"Come on," she said, waving a hand.

Fred fell into step beside her and the two left the school building.

* * *

 

"Mom?!" Kimberly called, walking out of her room at a brisk pace. Two pairs of fingers dangled from her fingertips, they bobbed back and forth, reflecting the setting sunlight from the kitchen window. "Which one of these goes with my dress?" As Ms. Hart gave her daughter a once-over, Kimberly continued to move the earrings back and forth from her ear and extending it out, away from her dress.

"I think the diamonds are the better ones," Ms. Hart said with a warm smile. She reached out a hand and ran her fingers through her daughter's hair, careful not to mess up the up do she had created. "I can't believe my baby is turning eighteen."

"I may be turning eighteen but I'm still your baby," Kimberly reminded her mother. She then lowered an eyebrow into a half-serious, half-playful expression. "And if that means that we're going on our annual birthday shopping trip, I'll continue to be your baby as long as I need to." She laughed along with her mother as she bent over, sticking her earrings in her ears.

"That's good to know," Ms. Hart agreed. She draped her thin arms around her daughter's shoulders and pulled her into the kind of hug that only a mother could. Releasing her daughter, Ms. Hart turned to the island, picking up a wrapped box. "Now let's just hope they're not stolen as well."

Kimberly let out a sigh. "Mom, I told you that I found my necklace behind my dresser. I'm sure yours is going to turn up soon." She felt a wave of guilt wash over her and chewed on her lower lip, playing with her fingers. Would it be easy or hard to explain where it went? Taking in another breath, she gave a bright smile, hoping to take her mother's attention off the topic at hand. "Is that for me?" She pointed at the box her mother was holding onto then wiggled her fingers. "Either way, I know it is."

"Well excuse me for having my only daughter on Valentine's Day," Ms. Hart laughed. She handed the box over to the pink ranger. "Happy Birthday, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom." Kimberly took the box and with an excited squeal, ripped open the gift wrap. Once that was off, she nearly destroyed the box that was encasing the dress that was her gift. Kimberly let out a loud squeal, holding onto the shoulders of the dress and jumping up and down. "Mom! Oh my god, this is so beautiful!" She encased her mother in a tight hug, rocking her back and forth. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, Kimmy," Ms. Hart hugged her back, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She brushed Kimberly's hair back out of her face. "I'm so glad you like it." She reached out and tapped her on the tip of the nose. "And there's more where that came from. But, you said you have a date with Tommy you need to get to?"

Kimberly giggled, instinctively bringing her hands up to cover her mouth. She had been blindsided when she had woken up that morning with a note on her bedside table, telling her she had a surprise date for her that night, courtesy of her wonderful boyfriend. She thought he was wonderful anyway, especially when surprising her with a bouquet of red roses when she arrived at her locker that morning. Trini had 'aww'd over them, Avalon had given him her approval with a punch to the shoulder, and the boys had teased him good naturedly.

Of course Kim didn't miss Billy having given Trini her own flower and tiny box of chocolates, or Zack's two dozen roses for Angela, or the fact that Avalon had received five Ring Pops in her locker that day. Kimberly had watched in amusement when the orange ranger did a cheerleader style jump and immediately grabbed the first one she could get her hand on. And somehow she had managed to eat all five of them throughout the day, whenever Kimberly had seen her; she had a different flavor of candy in her mouth. After school had let out, Kimberly immediately rushed back to her house to get ready.

Kimberly raised her arms above her head and the pink ranger started to twirl around the kitchen, causing her mother to let out another chuckle. She couldn't help it. She always had a lot of energy, it was part of the reason she had been sent into gymnastics class other than having begged her mother and father to go for days on end. Kimberly did a quick round-off backhand spring before going back to her room to get her shoes and purse. Hearing a honk from the front of the house, Kimberly quickly pulled on her heels and slid her purse over her shoulder. She raced out of her room, kissing her mother on the cheek before flying out the front door.

Tommy was leaning against the side of his white truck, looking like he was trying to figure out whether or not honking the horn was a good idea. His eyes were downcast, fingertips fluttering at his sides; he appeared to be muttering to himself. Kimberly stepped up to his side and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hi!" She said loudly, causing him to jump and jerk backwards. Kimberly placed her hands on her hips and turned in a quick circle. "What d'you think?"

Tommy smiled at her, and then looked her up and down before an expression of amazement slid onto his face. "You look beautiful, Kim," he said breathlessly. "Really." But the light didn't seem to reach his eyes. Kimberly frowned, looking hard at him.

Something was definitely wrong.

She tried to catch his eye, but he wouldn't look at her. Instead, he had his eyes back towards the ground once more, however this time he brought his thumbnail to his mouth and was gently chewing it, not focusing on anything in particular. Kimberly reached out and gently yet firmly grabbed onto his hand. Eyebrows lowering, Kimberly slowly guided his chin up and over so he was looking at her.

Her eyes caught his and Kimberly could feel her knees grow weak. Had she just been punched in the stomach? No. Still, she felt a sort of aching inside of her that caused her body to stay rooted in the spot. She had never felt like that before, it wasn't particularly a physical pain and yet she couldn't focus on anything other than that. She didn't want it to stop.

Before she could pull her hand away, Tommy grabbed onto Kimberly's shoulders and pulled her closer to him. She tilted her head back, strands of her dark hair falling out of her face, giving him a clear view of her beautiful brown eyes. She could feel his heart pounding, his whole body trembling.

Kimberly lost her breath.

"Kim…" Tommy licked his lips, eyes wide, holding a sense of fear. "For so long I've been trying to come up with what we are. What a good word for us would be. We've gone through so much together, being a power ranger, and without dealing with our rangers." Kimberly nodded. "And I know that I can always trust you to be there to listen to me, to care for me, to support me in whatever venture I decide to do and you know I'd do the same for you. And through everything we've proven that we can overcome it all." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, he gave a tiny smile. "I love you."

Kimberly's first reaction was to give a sigh of relief. She had wanted to kiss him, that's what she thought usually happened—it happened enough in her favorite romance movies—but it wasn't the right time. Instead, she gave him the biggest smile she could muster and he wrapped his arms around her. They stood there for a long time, taking each other in.

"I love you, too," she finally managed to say.

"Aww, how sweet!" The gravelly voice caused the two to immediately whip their heads around. Kimberly let out a slight gasp, moving a hand to her mouth when she saw Goldar standing behind them. He snarled, a sinister smile sliding on his face. Kimberly could feel Tommy steeling beside her, easily falling into his fighting stance. "And on a special day, too."

"What do you want, fang face?" Tommy goaded.

"Yeah, don't you have someone to spend the day with?" Kimberly added. She pretended to be horrified by her mistake. "Oh, sorry. Not even Rita would spend the day with _you_."

"You can joke all you want, pink ranger, but it's not going to stop me this time!" Goldar declared. He held out his hand and a large, turquoise gen fell out of the sky and landed in his hand.

"That must be the Azurite Healiodore," Tommy noted.

"We need to get it back from him!" Kimberly agreed.

"It's morphin' time! Tiger Zord!"

"Pterodactyl!"

Goldar enclosed his fist around the gem and he glowed a bright blue along with the gem. Once he opened his palm, the gem flew back up into the sky and Goldar let out a roar of excitement and swung his sword. With the swing, his sword emitted a big blast of blue lightning and while the bolt reached neither Kimberly nor Tommy, the shockwave of the blast sent them flying off their feet. Goldar swung his sword once more, this time sending out little bolts of electricity that struck them as they fell.

Kimberly fell onto her back with a loud gasp before being stunned by the pain. It hurt; it was blinding white hot pain that surged through her entire body, taking control of all of her muscles and having her write with pain. When he pain subsided, Kimberly took in frantic gasps of air, tears falling down her cheeks. Nothing that Rita and Zedd had ever thrown their way had been that strong.

"Kim, are you ok?" Tommy asked, appearing at her side.

He had Saba in his hand, holding it out in a way to shield himself when the time came. Kimberly glanced at him and her eyes widened, patches of his suit were burned away, the corner of his helmet had a crack in the corner. Looking down at her own suit, she could hers was in the same condition.

"Kim!?"

"Yeah," she finally managed to say. Her lips were cracked, throat dry. "Yeah, I'm ok. What was that?"

"I don't know, but we have to keep our eyes peeled," Tommy said.

Goldar let out another laugh and charged towards them, swinging his sword overhead. Tommy roughly shoved Kimberly aside and brought up Saba to block the strike. When the two swords collided there was an implosion. Dirt and dust flew everywhere and Kimberly was once again blown back by the shockwave. She scrambled to her knees when she got the chance, straining to see through the dust. "TOMMY!" She could hear someone moving, but wasn't sure if it was Goldar or her boyfriend.

The guy she loved.

The thought of anything happening to him now gripped her with more terror and fear than Rita ever could.

Gripping her arm, Kimberly got to her feet and started to stagger over to the crater. As the dust cleared she could see Tommy lying on the ground, barely moving as Goldar stood above him, a foot pressed to Tommy's helmet. Goldar continued to laugh, steadily applying pressure down onto Tommy's helmet. Kimberly felt her heart drop and everything faded away behind her.

It all moved in slow motion.

She could see each individual spider web like crack extend from the corner of his helmet spidering across the surface. She could see the pressure of Goldar's foot down onto Tommy's hand. She could see the slight twitches Tommy's hand made as he reached out.

Reached out towards her.

Kimberly dropped her arms to her side. "Power bow!" She called. Her power weapon appeared in her hands and while tears swam in her eyes, she pulled back on the boy, steadying it towards Goldar as long as she could. With a gut wrenching gasp, Kimberly let go of the bow and sent the arrows to Goldar. What would have normally caused him to shriek and writhe with pain bounced harmlessly off his back. Goldar merely looked over his shoulder at her before turning back to squishing her boyfriend like a bug. "No!" Kimberly continued to pull the bow, walking closer to Goldar, continuing to fire at him. "No!"

"Hang on, Kimberly!" Alpha's voice came through her helmet. Kimberly closed her eyes, dropping the bow to the ground. She shielded her face as there was a sudden bright light in front of her. When she dropped her arms, the Power Cube was floating in front of her. "The Power Cube is now yours to use," Zordon added.

Kimberly grasped the Power Cube in her hands and the light went from white to bright pink, encompassing the area around them in a bright pink dome. The burned patches on her suit mended themselves and she could feel her strength coming back to her. Once the light faded the Power Cube was gone, though Goldar was still taunting Tommy, periodically twisting his foot back and forth as he did so.

Hands starting to glow pink around her gloves, Kimberly took another step forward, thrusting out her hands. A giant gust of wind blew, rattling the trees around her like maracas. Goldar lifted his head and started to stab his sword at the sky. The wind continued to pick up speed. Kimberly pressed her lips together in concentration and focused not he power surging through her body. The wind continued until a funnel cloud appeared out of the sky, reaching towards the ground. Startled, Kimberly dropped her arms and backed away from Goldar. The wind ceased almost as quickly as it began.

_I'm not going to give up!_

With a cry, Kimberly lifted her hands again, this time focusing on the pink glow around her hands. Bolts of energy accompanied by gusts of wind shot towards Goldar and smacked him in the back. He let out a roar of pain and stumbled off of Tommy, turning to glare at her.

"You're going to pay for that pink ranger! With your life!" Goldar raised his sword once more, it starting to gather blue light.

"Power Staff!"

"Power Lance!"

Kimberly watched as Avalon and Billy flew overhead, weapons pointed towards Goldar. They slashed at the golden monster before jumping backwards out of reach. Then Trini, Zack, and Jason followed afterwards, their weapons brandished as well.

"Guys, be careful!" Kimberly called. "I don't know how much power he has, but he's using the Azurite Heliodor."

Seeing that Goldar was distracted, Kimberly hurried over to Tommy's side, lifting him up into a sitting position. Pressing her helmet close to his, she let out a sigh of relief, tightening her grip on his shoulders when she heard his breathing. It was faint, but he was still alive. Gazing over his helmet, Kimberly could see that it was dented in on one side, half of the protective eyewear having broken away so she could see the side of his face. Tiny pinpricks of blood, where the glass had etched into his skin, rolled down his cheek. His eyes slowly moved over to hers and crinkled at the corners.

Kimberly smiled back at him.

"She's right," Jason agreed. "Who knows what kind of power he has now."

"I don't think waiting around to find out is a good idea!" Avalon said, tightening her grip on her power staff. Releasing one hand, she thrust out another, shooting a stream of fire at the monster. Trini did the same, sending out bolts of electricity at him. Goldar snarled and held out his sword and, to the rangers' amazement, sucked in the elements.

"What?" Trini gasped.

"He absorbed the powers," Billy said.

"And now let's see how you feel about them!" Goldar held his sword in front of him with both hands.

"Everyone look out!" Zack cried.

It was too late. Goldar sent the attack back at them in a direct hit. Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini, and Avalon all tried in vain to shield themselves. The force of the blow flipped them to the ground, where they struggled to get back up, de-morphing. _The power of the heliodor must have tripled the strength of the attack when he sent it back to them,_ Kimberly thought. _What can we do now?_

As Kimberly watched, Goldar brought his arms above his head and laughed evilly before disappearing in a wall of fire. She and Tommy de-morphed and she lifted him up, looking him over. She realized then he had taken an almost direct hit when the two swords had clashed together. Saba, before he disappeared, had lain prone on the ground; the metal portion of his sword had all but melted.

"Is everyone ok?" Jason asked, pushing himself up. He dusted off the tie that hung from around his neck, flipping it over his shoulder. He then turned and saw Kimberly struggling to get Tommy up. His head lolled back and forth, though he seemed to be coming to. "Is he ok?" He and the other rangers hurried over to their fallen leader.

"I'm OK guys," Tommy rasped out. "Don't worry." He put an arm around Kimberly's shoulders and leaned his weight against her. "So Goldar has it huh?" He looked around, his eyes narrowing.

"What's wrong, Tommy?" Trini asked anxiously.

Tommy shook his head then glanced down at Kimberly. She squeezed his hands then followed her gaze. She could feel her eyes widening as well, taking in what he was seeing. Nothing was out of place. The trees were gently blowing, sun was setting, and everything otherwise as still. There was no crater in the ground, no dirt on any of the cars parked in the driveway, not even Kimberly mother's had come outside to see what the commotion was. It was like everything had stopped around them and nothing could penetrate the barrier.

"When Goldar and Tommy were fighting, there was a blast," Kimberly said slowly, trying to wrap her head around it. "There was a crater in the ground but now…" She shook her head. "Nothing."

"There aren't any scorch marks either," Billy noted, hands on hips as he twisted back and forth. His hazel eyes scanned the grass and brush that lined the house. No indications that fire had come anywhere near them. "That's very peculiar."

"What does that mean?" Zack crossed his arms, huffing with anxiety. "Is this the only thing that Goldar can do with that gem? And if it's from space what else does it have the ability to do?" Each question came rapid fire to Billy, who blinked rapidly, trying to figure out how to respond to each one.

"Rack off, Zack!" Avalon jumped in. "He doesn't know any more than we do. So don't expect him to have all the answers."

"Guys!" Trini interrupted, holding her hands out. Once she was sure she had everyone's attention she lowered her voice to the sweet, dulcet tone that was her natural range. "Please don't argue about this. Avalon's right, Billy and the rest of us don't know anything about this. But Zack is also in the right for asking questions." She cocked her head to the side. "Though it is strange that Goldar didn't try to finish us off, he just…ran away."

"Well, as it is, there doesn't seem anything we can do about it now," Jason soothed. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it firmly. He turned back to Kimberly, whose grip on Tommy's hand had continued to increase in strength. "Sorry about all this, Kim. It's probably a birthday you're never going to forget."

"We can still make it to our reservation," Tommy insisted, suddenly sounding stronger than he had a minute before. He removed his arm from her shoulders and took her hand in his, enveloping it with the one movement. "If you're still up for it, that is."

Kimberly blinked for a moment before laughing at herself. Here she had been, so eager for her birthday when there was always something more important to worry about. She looked over her friends, taking in their dressy clothes and their formal wear. She hadn't felt such a warm wave of admiration for them until that moment. She brought a hand up and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Aww Kim, don't cry." Trini reached out and hugged her best friend around the shoulders and rested her head against hers. She brought up a hand and wiped away the pink ranger's tear. "Today's supposed to be a happy day. Forget about what happened with Goldar."

"That's just the point," Kim insisted. "I can't." She clutched Trini as well. "Being a power ranger is just as much a part of me as having a birthday is. And…knowing that you guys were there to help me…" she glanced at Tommy. He managed to give her a warm smile. "It just reminded me of something someone told me before." She sucked in a deep breath, rolling back her shoulders. "I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about it," she said honestly. "But what happened with Goldar…I'm not going to have it ruin my day."

"That's good to hear," Zack said, pretending to let out a sigh of relief. He brought out a hand, smacking Jason on the chest. "Because we were hoping for some cake." Jason laughed and shoved Zack away from him.

"Good to know that's all you care about," Kimberly said, sticking her nose in the air.

"Hey, I got you a good present, I think it deserves some cake." To prove his point, Zack stuck his hand into the inside of his coat and produced a small velvet box. He lifted it to show Kim and laughed when her eyes widened. "Glad to know we understand each other."

"Well, you're probably going to get more than cake," Avalon said, kicking at the ground. She let out a sigh, lifting her chin. "I didn't have any idea of what to get you for a gift, Pinkerbell, especially on such short notice since it wasn't until recently I found out when it was." She continued to shuffle her feet. "So I just made you brownies for you for a gift."

"I didn't know you could bake," Jason remarked.

"Neither did I," Billy agreed.

Avalon smirked over at the blue ranger. "If your parents weren't so insisting that they cater to me and Bailey on that sort of thing, Smurf, you probably would," she said then waved it off with nonchalance. "Anyway, I'm going to get you something better to make up for it, Kim."

Kimberly clasped her hands together. "That's alright, Av," she said. "Brownies are my favorite dessert, anyway." She turned at the sound of the front door to the house opening. Ms. Hart blinked in surprise when she spotted all of the rangers standing in her driveway. Gently pulling the door until it was a crack behind her, she stepped out onto the front porch. "Oh! Hey, Mom!"

"Hey," Ms. Hart replied. She waved to the group, who all waved back at her. "Honey, weren't you and Tommy going out for dinner before heading off to the dance? I thought that's why he came by." Her eyes then moved around the street, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "How did you all get here?"

"We ran," Avalon deadpanned. Her lips twitched as she tried not to laugh out loud. Jason brought a hand up around her head and placed it over her mouth, pulling her head onto his shoulder. He gave a disarming smile as Avalon reached out her hands, trying to push Jason away from her.

"Um." Kimberly bit her lower lip as she smiled at her friends. "Mom, is it OK if we all just have dinner here?"

"What about the dance?" Trini reminded her.

Kimberly waved a hand. "Forget about it," she said with a smile. "As long as I'm with you guys I don't care what I do for my birthday." She squeezed Tommy's arm as she leaned into him, giving everyone a mega-watt smile that only someone in love could.

Avalon finally pushed Jason's hand off of her mouth, giving him a warning look before turning to Kimberly and saying, "Aww, that's so sweet." She smirked.

Kimberly placed her hands on her hips. "Are you ever happy?" She demanded.

"Are you ever not?" Avalon returned, eyebrow rising.

"God we're never going to hear the end of it." Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. He then stepped up between the pink and orange rangers, putting their arms around their shoulders. "Why don't you just agree that you're completely opposite of each other and leave it at that?"

"Because things wouldn't be nearly as fun," Trini replied with a slight roll of her eyes. She exchanged a smile with Billy. "I'm OK with staying here if you are."

"Anything that would keep him from dancing, I think he'll jump at the chance," Zack said.

"It's better than being a showoff," Billy returned, causing Zack to laugh.

"If we're going to have dinner here, then we have to get Bailey," Tommy insisted. "You know she wouldn't want to miss it."

"Leave that to me," Avalon said with a wave of her hand.

"Alright then." Trini sighed and smiled, turning to Ms. Hart. "If you'll have us, we'd love to stay in and celebrate Kim's birthday with you." Ms. Hart smiled back at the yellow ranger.

"I'd love that," she said and took a step back, holding out her arm. "Just gather on in to the dining room and we'll see what we can do with what we have."

Trini placed her hand in Billy's and led the way into the house. The other rangers followed as Kimberly trailed behind them. Gently rubbed her arms, she followed them into the house, closing the door behind her. Right before the bolt latched into place, Kimberly could sense the wind picking up. As if it was letting her know it wasn't going to let her down. Kimberly glanced down at her fingertips for a moment with a knowing smile before locking the door. Following her friends she stopped in the doorway of the dining room next to the white ranger. The tiny cuts had already stopped bleeding and he had wiped the blood away. The only indication that they had been in a fight with Goldar was what looked like little shaving nicks.

Tommy wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a kiss on the side of the head. "Happy Birthday, Kim."

Kimberly wrapped her arms around his waist in return, watching as her friends as they seated themselves at the dining room talking, talking and laughing with each other. She smiled up at him and squeezed him once more.


	6. Parents Just Don't Understand

**Chapter 06**

_Parents Just Don't Understand_

* * *

 

"Have a good evening, Captain."

Captain Mitchell nodded to the doorman and left the looming building behind him to find his car in the car park. His footsteps echoed on the concrete, swirling around him and buffeting him on all sides. He had his lips pressed together in a stern expression, one that he had perfected over the years of hard work and gaining respect of those that were working around him. Such as his hard work to go up in ranks. As he reached his car he slid inside and quickly closed the door behind him.

Once he was safely inside, doors locked, he leaned forward, resting his forehead on the steering wheel, breathing heavily, feeling an anxiety attack coming on. That's what happened every time he got into a car now, ever since the accident years before. He couldn't get over it. Why couldn't he get over it? He had saved his son and his daughter as well as his own life. So why wasn't that enough?

He continued to sit there for a few minutes, sucking in deep breaths and doing his best not to break out into sobs. Finally regaining his composure he started the car and drove back to his house. His composure was stone cold, not looking left nor right as he drove back to his house. He pressed his lips together, clenching his jaw, trying to forget everything around him.

His stress had leveled out a bit by the time he had reached his house, but still felt it surging through his veins. That all changed once he opened the front door to his house.

"Hey, Dad!"

Captain Mitchell smiled and followed the voice of his daughter into the kitchen. Dana Mitchell stood at the stove, stirring a pot of a spaghetti sauce. She turned around and flashed her father a warm smile as he walked over to his spot at the table, taking off his hat and laying it down at his spot. "How was your day?"

"Stressful to say the least," Captain Mitchell replied. He took a deep breath, trying to push the car ride out of his head. He didn't want her to worry. She had forgotten about the car accident years ago, not remembering that she had even had a brother before. He briefly closed his eyes, turning away from her. It had hurt at first, when she stopped asking about Ryan and went on with her life. He had to hide the old pictures, act like he didn't exist, just so they didn't have to worry about triggering anything when she was young. "We didn't get a lot done; there were so many emergency meetings and things going wrong."

"Well, now that you're home you can relax," Dana said. She turned back to the stove, turning off the burner underneath the pot. "So guess what?"

"What?" Captain Mitchell sat down in his seat and watched Dana as she transferred the pot to a burner that was off, and picked up the pot of noodles. "Oh, did you get your biology test back?"

"Yes, that's it!" Dana beamed and hurried over to her backpack as it sat on the counter. She ruffled through it and practically skipped over to her father, waving it as she did so. "Check it out." Putting a hand on her father's shoulder, Dana passed the test into her father's hands. He looked it over, eyes lighting up when he spotted the 'A' resting at the top of the page.

"That's great, sweetie." He leaned up and gave her a kiss on the side of the head. "You studied really hard for this."

"I know," Dana agreed. She sat down in the chair next to him. Resting her chin in her hands she let out a heavy sigh. "Studying for a week straight and I get an A." She rolled her eyes. "And here I thought trying to become a doctor would be easy." When her father didn't laugh along with her, her smile wilted to a frown, noticing he was staring off into space. "Daddy are you ok?" She reached out a hand, grabbing onto his wrist.

 _Avalon always said she wanted to become a doctor,_ Captain Mitchell thought. _And Bailey wanted to be a scientist if I remember correctly._ He was lost in his thoughts once more, of the kids he had given up. Four kids and he had only one left and now Ellie was going to bring the girls back into their lives? How was he going to explain that to Dana? How was he going to defend himself when his wife had been so sick and he had been so lonely…? What was it that ultimately drove him to that point? He couldn't put a finger on it. One day he was working his normal routine, saying goodbye to Ryan, leaving him with Angela, who had been their babysitter at the time, and running off to work. It had been around that time he had met Ellie and things progressed from there.

Their relationship had moved in a whirlwind and before he had known what happened, she was pregnant with Avalon. Then he found to about Dana. His life would have been ruined if either woman found out about the other, so he took the coward's way out and kept them in the dark about each other. Whenever Captain Mitchell went on a 'business trip' he would go to see Ellie, who didn't know Captain Mitchell was married. There were so many complicated factors, he wouldn't be able to defend himself and still be seen as a man that should be respected in the eyes of those around him. He knew that. It was how the guilt and anxiety continued to grow, knowing at any moment things could come crashing down around him and he could lose everyone.

"Daddy?" Dana's voice broke through his thoughts.

Captain Mitchell smiled warmly at his daughter. The light of his life…the one he had big hopes for. If things worked out. His experiments failed the first few times, weird side effects had been exposed, an innocent person got in the way, but they were making progress.

Soon they were going to be able to be the first to do something no one had heard of before. Too bad so many people had to become victims of it.

"I'm ok, Dana," Captain Mitchell said. He placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed it back as well. "Just a little tired." He dropped his hands from hers and stood up, pushing the chair back away from him. "I'm going to take a shower, and then I'll be down so we can eat."

"Ok." Dana's worry left her face and she smiled once more.

Captain Mitchell turned on his heel and left the kitchen, heading up the stairs to his room. He knew one day soon he was going to have to come clean with everything, his double life and what he was working on when he went to work.

Now just wasn't the time.

* * *

 

Ellie Mitchell pushed her blonde hair out of her face as she looked around her tiny bedroom. In front of her an open suitcase stuffed to the brim threatened to spill its contents onto the floor. She pressed a hand to her chin. Maybe she was thinking too much about this? Sure, the LA weather could be unpredictable; would it be hot or cool? Cloudy or Sunny? It barely rained, so she didn't know why she was even trying to stuff an umbrella in there when she didn't have any room.

Her nervous energy was starting to take her over. Reaching up a hand she pressed her hand to her mouth, starting to chew on the ends of her nails. _What am I doing?_ She turned and reached behind her, picking up the plane tickets that were carefully set aside not to get mixed up with everything that had been scattered around in her haste to get her things together.

She was to arrive in Angel Grove that weekend.

To become a mother to her daughters again? Did they want her back? Did they want to know what it was that caused them to fall into a hard life? Would they forgive her? The questions continued to swirl around her as the seconds passed, causing her to start to unpack her bag once more. No. She couldn't do this. She couldn't just pop in and think that things were going to be ok. Especially without a phone call first. Would a phone call even go well? It's not like she could suddenly pop onto the line and say 'hi it's your mother, the one you haven't seen in three years?'

Yeah, that'd be beauty.

But she owed it to herself to see what was going to happen. She wasn't the bad guy in the situation. She was a victim of circumstance just like they had been. And while she had kept the sadness inside, she had become stronger because of it. Having to start new and work her career from the bottom up was a stepping stone to get back on her feet.

Now all she had to do was tell herself to stop changing her mind.

* * *

 

Jason frowned as he flexed in the mirror. He twisted to the sound, moving his hands into fists and pushing out his muscles as far as they would go. After studying his reflection for a moment, he shook his head. With a slight grunt of frustration he turned from the mirror and grabbed onto a jump rope that was sitting on the back of his desk chair. Stretching it between his hands he flipped it over his head and started to whip it around over his head and under his feet, kicking his legs in and out as he did so.

His breaths came out ragged as he worked hard, moving back and forth across the bedroom floor as he did so. When he felt he had jumped an adequate amount of times he dropped the jump rope to the floor and started to do a series of pushups and sit ups. He was in his second set of sit ups when he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Yeah?" He called. The door opened and he looked up as his mother stuck her head inside, her eyes roaming around the room before lowering and spotting her son on the floor. "Hey Mom." Jason sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees. Sweat beaded across his forehead, his chest rising and falling in big swells. "What's up?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Marissa replied. She walked into the room and perched herself on the edge of her son's bed. "Didn't you already work out this morning?" She crossed her legs and looked down at Jason as he let go of his knees and started to do sit ups once more. "And have a martial arts class?"

"Yeah, so?" Jason returned.

"Is there a tournament coming up? Is that why you're working so hard?"

"I always work hard, Mom. I'm just…working harder than I normally do."

"Is this because of your hospital stay?"

Jason paused in his sit-up, hands behind his head. His stomach and body quivered for a moment as he continued to hold himself in a limbo between the floor and his full sit up. No. This had absolutely nothing to do with being sent to the hospital. That had been such a fluke anyway. If he had jumped out at someone in the dead of night when they were too busy looking at their phone, he was sure he'd be able to send someone into the hospital as well. The only difference was that he was trained not to do so, due to martial arts and because of the sense of responsibility he held. He wouldn't be able to look himself in the mirror if he had caused harm to someone just because he had the means to do so. Even Bulk and Skull managed to work on his nerves and he restrained himself from the urge to knock them both out.

"What would that have to do with anything?" He asked her.

Marissa gave her son a knowing smile, crossing her legs the other way. "Well, you never particularly liked them," she reminded him. "Also considering the fact that you always said it was getting in the way of your workouts whenever you even had to go in for a checkup or a simply shot."

"A strong mind can be just as helpful as a strong body," Jason reminded her. He lifted a finger. "That's one of the first few things that we learn when you are starting out with martial arts." He dropped his hand at his mother's eye roll. "I'm just trying to catch up with the ones I missed while I was there." He held up his hands. "Ok, so it has to do with my hospital stay a little bit, but it's nothing you should be worried about. I'll be back to my normal self in a couple of days."

Marissa nodded and gave him a kiss on the side of the head. "Don't push yourself too hard or else you'll burn yourself out." She squeezed his shoulder. "You remember that one time when your father burned out?" Jason couldn't help but smile at the memory. His father, Caine, who was probably the strongest man Jason had ever known had turned into a baby when he was bedridden for a couple of days due to stress and constantly working out. He had essentially treated his wife and son like maids, asking for every little thing. And it wasn't until Marissa had literally smacked sense into him with a pillow that he had scaled back until he was able to get back on his feet.

"I can't afford to have that happen," Jason replied. _No one can._ He felt his hands clench into fists as he thought about Goldar. He clearly had more power than they could ever imagine. It was going to take a lot of work for them to stop whatever Rita and Zedd were planning to take over the world this time.

"So why don't you take a break for tonight then?"

"Is that your way of telling me to stop making so much noise?"

Jason laughed as Marissa ruffled her son's hair and stood up from his bed, leaving the room. He waited as she softly closed the door behind him, hearing the lock click into place before getting up from his bed. He leaned over and shoved his hand underneath his pillow, moving it out of the way of his morpher—he couldn't risk having that lying around whenever he was at home—and grabbing not a tiny bottle. Pulling it out from underneath the covers he glanced over the label for a moment, moving his mouth to the side. He pulled open the bottle and dumped an orange pill into his hand.

He replaced the cap of the bottle and replaced it under his pillow before grabbing the water bottle that was sitting on his desk. He tossed the pill into his mouth and quickly tried to flush it down with water. The chalkiness of the pill coated his tongue a few seconds before the water could wash it down and he felt his face contort with disgust. He stuck out his tongue, gagging between continuous sips of water.

He went back to the mirror and flexed once more. This time, however, he even went as far as to poke his biceps, triceps, and his stomach muscles, running his fingers up and down his arms. He turned away from the mirror with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He then lifted his hand and smashed his fist into his palm.

* * *

 

Avalon looked up at Bulk and Skull as they walked over to her locker. "Hey, I haven't seen you lot around," she said, closing her locker door with a firm press of her palm. "Have you been in detention this whole time?"

"Mr. Kaplan has threatened us with that so many times," Bulk said. "I doubt he's even going to try." He pursed his lips as he leaned against her locker, crossing his arms over his chest. There was an air of pride in his voice. "Besides, we've moved on to bigger and better things."

"Yeah!" Skull agreed, noisily chewing gum. "Bigger and better things!" Bulk shot him an annoyed glance as Skull opened his mouth and jammed another piece of gum into his mouth. "Where we leave this high school in our dust!"

Avalon's eyebrow rose as she took a step back away from her locker and closed the door, throwing her bag over her shoulders. "Do you plan on blowing up the school?"

"Knowing our luck a monster attack will come up first," Bulk said. He held his hands up in the shape of a square. "And then we'd get an even better shot of the Power Rangers ups close!" Skull did the same movement with his hands, causing Avalon to laugh. "We'll let the monster distract them, then rip their heads off!"

"Good luck with that, mate," Avalon said. She patted him on the shoulder then took a step back, sliding her hands into the back pockets of her jean shorts. "Are you blokes going to prom? I didn't see you at Homecoming much." She immediately felt the side of her face twitch, knowing how stupid it was to mention it. Of course she hadn't seen them at the Homecoming dance. She and the rangers were too busy trying to keep the school from being attack. She started to smile, if only they had gone outside while the dance was going on, they would have been able to get the identities of the rangers with no problem.

"Well we might not be around anytime soon," Skull said. He smirked, taking his hands up and grabbing onto the lapels of his leather jacket. He made a show of tugging on them before running a comb through his hair. "We may still get offers though, women love men in uniform."

Avalon rolled her head over towards Bulk. "What's he talking about?"

Bulk smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "What he means is that we're bigger and better than this school and we're going to prove it…by become police men." Avalon's jaw dropped as she looked back and forth between the two of them. "Yep, they have a junior cadet program opening soon and we were thinking of entering."

Avalon closed her mouth and pressed a hand to her forehead before slapping her hands onto her hips. "Are you a few sheep short of a station?" She cried. "I mean, I knew you two could act like boofheads sometimes, but I never thought you'd take a beauty opportunity like this and threw it away?"

Bulk and Skull stared at Avalon for a long moment before exchanging a glance and looking at her again. Skull leaned towards Bulk, speaking in a loud whisper. "What did she say?"

"I have no idea," Bulk whispered back. He looked over at Skull and, noticing how close his best friend was, reached a hand out and pushed Skull away from him. "Ugh! Don't stand so close to me!" Avalon laughed as he fell amongst the lockers, creating a loud bang, then fell to the ground. The orange ranger reached out a hand and helped him to his feet.

"Something tells me I shouldn't expect you two to be the ones that save me if I ever get in trouble," she said, brushing her hair behind her ear. Cocking her head to the side she studied the two boys. "What made you want to get into the police force anyway?"

"You know we would have waited until the end of the school year if we hadn't gotten kicked out," Skull said. Bulk turned and glared at him, clenching his jaw and slowly pushing his lips out. Skull, blissfully unaware continued to smile as the silence trickled through.

"You got kicked out?" Avalon repeated. She scratched the back of her neck.

Out of anyone that had been at the school she figured she was the front runner to be kicked out. Her study habits still weren't going that well and she was going to have to work her add off to raise her grade high enough to pass the school year. But even she had started to change her ways and was trying to turn things around. Come to think of it, she hadn't really seen Bulk and Skull at school at all. She had been so focused on what was going on with her and the rangers that she had seemingly forgotten the first friends she had made while at Angel Grove.

Even though they were the resident bullies there, they had been around to make her feel comfortable. She had expected them to become some of her best friends rather than the rangers had become.

"We didn't get kicked out, we decided to walk," Bulk said. Skull gave him a confused look and he pushed him away once more. "We have bigger and better things to do than this school and we're going to prove that we can be some of Angel Grove's finest."

Did that mean they were going to be able to see her police records? Avalon felt her heart drop as soon as the words came to mind. The news of her taking the blame for everything the Vipers hadn't come out yet, but it was only a matter of time. Knowing she was starting her community service in a couple of hours didn't help matters much. But if they had seen all of the crimes that had fallen to her, the times of her past arrests though she had been released with little to no charges against her. She decided to change the subject.

"Well if school's not for you, it's not for you; I just hope that you don't have to use a gun anytime soon." She turned on her heel and left her locker, heading towards the entrance to the school. "Not that they'd know what to do with one if they had it," she muttered under her breath.

"You know the first sign of insanity is talking to yourself, Kid," Zack's voice wafted from her right and Avalon looked up to see the black and red rangers flanking her sides.

"Too late for that," Avalon replied. "Didn't you already know I'm crazy?"

"Completely psychotic is more like it," Jason teased.

Avalon elbowed him in the side. "Ow!" Feeling her elbow hit nothing but strong muscle, Avalon rubbed the skin, taking a step back away from him. "Hey Rudolph, I know you're upset that the others wouldn't let you join in their reindeer games, but you need to lay off the bodybuilding." She gave him the side eye. "You're giving a new definition to the term meat-head."

Jason stopped in his tracks. "It's something I like to do," he defended himself. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"I didn't ask for my elbow to be bruised either," Avalon pointed out. "And look where that got me."

Zack, sensing a fight brewing, stepped between the two rangers and pushed them away from each other. "Ok, let's not have a lover's spat," he said jokingly. "I don't have enough popcorn for that." At Jason's eyebrow raise and Avalon's snort Zack rolled his eyes. "Ok children, but don't act like I've never tried to help you."

"You wouldn't have to help anything if she didn't have such a big ego!" Jason snapped, gesturing violently towards the orange ranger. Avalon blinked, taking a step back and exchanging a glance with Zack. Zack looked back at her. The two were thinking the same thing: there was something wrong with Jason.

"Jase, man, are you ok?" Zack placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Is there something bugging you."

Jason shook his head shifting his backpack to his other shoulder. The three walked to the entrance of the school and down the crowded front steps, careful not to get in the way of the other students who were in a rush to get away from school. One Jason turned back to Zack and Avalon he suddenly had a bright smile on his face.

 _Yep, I was right,_ Avalon thought, feeling her face screw up at the sudden change in his demeanor. _This guy is nuts._

"What are you guys up to?" He asked them. "I was going to meet Tommy, Kim, Trini, and Billy at the Youth Center if you guys don't have anything to do."

"Sorry, Dad's taking me to the store to get some football equipment," Zack apologized with a mild-mannered shrug. He turned back to Avalon, who crossed her arms, jutting out her right hip in an expression of defiance.

"I have my first round of community service to do," she said. She raised a hand and waved it around in a circle, middle finger up. "I have to stop by the police station, see where I'm going to be assigned, and then head over for the first couple of hours today."

"We can give you a lift," Zack offered. "It's on the way." He then turned and punched Jason on the arm. "Or Jase can with his massive hulk-like muscles." This time Jason laughed along with Avalon and Zack. Zack's laughter faded though he still had a smile on his face.

"I'll take you up on that offer when I break my legs," Avalon replied, rolling her eyes.

"Whatever you say, Avie," Jason replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand. Avalon nodded and turned her head when movement caught her eye. She watched as Chase crossed the street down on the corner, head tilted down with a backwards cap on, still dressed in a mechanics uniform. She vaguely remembered when he said he was going to get a job at the nearby auto shop to keep an eye on her after she had joined the Vipers.

_I wonder if he's still there for the same reason._

"Just be careful," Jason added. He must have noticed what had caught her attention. Avalon could tell by the tone of his voice that he had wanted to say more. He dropped the subject knowing how she wasn't going to change her mind. He didn't want a repeat of the last time they had that conversation when the two had screamed at each other in Ernie's. All he had to do was be supportive, and hopefully things would be easier for her.

"Thanks Dad," Avalon said sarcastically as she watched Chase move off down the street.

There was a sudden gust of wind and Zack and Jason brought their arms up to shield their faces from the buffeting winds. When they lowered them they noticed Avalon not standing by them anymore and an orange blur disappearing down the street.


	7. Guilty Pleasures

**Chapter 07**

_Guilty Pleasures_

* * *

 

Avalon twisted her mouth to the side flicking open and closed the top of the lighter that she balanced between her palms. The light clink was the only sound in the room. Skye sat at the top of the lookout tower, watching the streets below him. Only the usual people were on the streets, it was a boring position to been assigned but he knew not to question it. He had other areas of interest that were his greater strengths and he had proven it time and time again.

And yet he had to continue to sit under Chase's thumb and listen to his every word and do exactly as he was told. Skye had been there from the very beginning and had been by Chase's side as the numbers of the Vipers continued to dwindle day by day. He could see Chase's grip slipping—why else would he want to start working with Tim—it was only a matter of time until it was gone completely.

Avalon turned away from Skye when she heard footsteps heading their way. Out of the corner of her eye, Avalon could see Skye poke his head out from underneath the railing and watched as Chase, Tim, and Summer appeared from around the corner, coming from one of the extra rooms of the warehouses. Avalon leaned back on the couch, placing her head on the headrest, angling her chin down to look directly at them, though so it didn't appear she was watching their every move. Crossing her legs at the ankle she placed her hands on her power morpher, wondering if there was any chance that a monster attack would happen that would get her out of there.

"Alright, we got some stuff we need to do," Chase said, clasping his hands together. "Though the police have caused us to hold back for a while, Tim,"—he angled his head back towards the High Flyer leader that stood by his side. His tattoos that were visible on his neck showed different tribal designs that, all together, appeared sharper and more threatening. "Has some intel that will keep us running for a while."

Especially now that he was standing in the middle of his rival gang territory.

Who knew if he was really trying to help them out or was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike back and destroy the Vipers from the inside out?

 _Not that it'd be that difficult to do right now,_ Avalon thought. She sat up straight, turning her attention back to Chase as he continued to speak. Tilting his head to the side, he scratched his lower jaw, the stubble that had formed over the past couple of days sprouting up around the harsh scar in his jaw.

"Speaking of…" Avalon sat up and reached into her pocket, pulling out a pair of brass knuckles. She juggled them in her hand for a moment before tossing them over to Chase, who shot out his hand and snatched the weapon out of the air. "Bay gave me those to give to you." Her eyes shifted over to Tim, who looked back at her. He even spat on the ground without breaking eye contact with her. "Someone from his crew gave it to my sister to give to you." Her eyebrow rose. "I thought you said you were going to leave Bailey out of this."

Tim shrugged as he spoke up, Chase stayed inconspicuously quiet. He had taken his gaze from Avalon and over to Summer, who had made a show of draping her arm around the gang leader's waist, leaning into his side.

"I wasn't aware that an arrangement had been made," Tim said, his eyebrows rising. Was there amusement in his eyes? No entirely sure, the orange ranger looked away, instead, tightening her grip around the power morpher. It was a source of comfort to her now. She had no idea when that happened. "Though now I'll be sure to keep your sister out of this." His tone was condescending; everyone in the room could hear it and feel it in the tension that had suddenly surrounded them.

Avalon lifted a hand and flipped him off.

"As I was _saying_!"—Chase's glare moved from Avalon to Skye, who continued to sit in the rafters, watching everything unfold. "We have a tip for a hit as well as to make some money. But we have to go into High-Flyer territory to get it done."

"How do you know you can trust it?" Skye questioned. He was now glaring back at Tim who appeared to be a little too comfortable with the conversation. Avalon knew the concerns he had; they were the same that she was quietly harboring. Why was Tim the only one of the High-Flyers that was doing anything with the Vipers? What had happened to the others? Yes a lot of both gangs had been nicked by the police when there was the giant drug bust, but did that mean that the purple clad gang affiliates were really trying to help?

"Are you questioning me?" Chase knocked Summer's tight grip off of his waist and addressed the whole room, his manic voice echoing off the rafters and around the metal. His facial expression had done a quick one-eighty, changing from a sense of neutrality to extreme anger. If looks could kill, they would all have been buried six feet under just by one glance. "When I've done nothing but help you by bringing you in—"

"Not this again," Skye murmured, shaking his head.

"Do you want me to fucking go up there and do something?" Chase snarled at him.

"If fucking Summer is going to help you feel better at all go ahead." Skye waved an arm back towards the stairs. "Do whatever you want, the rest of us will just sit back and do whatever it is you ask us to do, acting like your little sheep when it suits you." He slapped the metal staircase before walking down it, footsteps clomping loudly as he did so, as if putting an exclamation point on his words. "God dammit, do you not get what's going on out there?! We have nothing other than this and you're tearing it apart because you can't lead!" He crossed his arms. "If Dusty were here—"

"Fuck off!" Chase snapped. He grabbed the front of Skye's shirt and pulled him into his face. Chase's face had turned a nasty shade of magenta. He removed his hand from the front of Skye's shirt to around his neck, painfully pressing the tips of his fingers into the skin above his Adam's apple, his thumb pushing Skye's chin upwards. "If you have a problem with the way I run things, then you won't have to worry about it anymore." With his free hand, he pulled out a pocket knife and held it to Skye's throat, hard enough to draw blood from the point. Before anyone could move, Chase pulled the knife across Skye's throat.

Summer let out a scream, muffled behind her hands and Avalon sat up straight, eyes wide, heart starting to beat in her chest. Skye fell to his knees, holding onto the front of his neck, let out slight gasping sounds. No. Avalon swallowed thickly. Did she really just witness that in front of her? By her own two eyes? Her dark eyes shifted to Chase, who looked coolly down at Skye. Beside him, Tim merely glanced at Skye as if he were a gnat buzzing around his head. _What happened to him?_ She never remembered him being like that before.

Not even when he had been beating her up, there was a bit of restraint on his end. The pressure must have been getting to him more than she originally realized. At the thought, she felt a slight twinge of guilt, much like she had when she was running back and forth to help them and the rangers. She knew now that the Vipers weren't good for her, but how easy was it to turn your back on people that had helped her when she had literally nothing.

"Oh relax you big pussy," Chase said. He rolled his eyes, putting the knife back in his pocket. "I barely did any damage." Reaching down with his large hand, he grabbed Skye's shoulder and heaved him to his feet. Skye moved his hands from his neck, revealing a tiny line, the blood already stemming. He shoved Skye away from him and reached into his bulging leather jacket pocket, producing a large bag of white powder.

Ignoring Summer's outstretched hand; he walked over to Avalon and pressed it into her hand. "Hold onto this for me, I don't need it for a few days." Avalon nodded and tightened her grip on the bag. Chase turned back to Tim and nodded, motioning for him to follow him. Skye obediently went as well. "You girls stay here, keep watch and take stock of everything."

"No problem," Summer said confidently.

It fell on deaf ears as the three boys left the warehouse, tires squealing that let the girls know the guys had left. Avalon turned to Summer and was met with a sharp slap to the side of the face. Avalon's eyes narrowed into a glare and she turned back to the other girl, ducking out of the way as another slap headed towards her opposite cheek. Avalon transferred the baggie to her other hand and instinctively punched Summer on the cheek. She could have used her extra strength to knock her out in one hit, but restrained herself or else she would have an arson charge on her as well.

It had taken her a while to get used to her enhanced speed and strength, but this time was one where she wanted nothing but to use them as she pleased.

Summer stumbled back, grabbing her cheek. "I don't know what you think you're doing," She hissed. "But you're ruining everything."

Avalon snorted, her fingers twitching at her sides. She itched to hit her again. "I haven't done anything that the rest of you lot have, if you're blaming me for the fall of all of us,"—she waved a hand around the warehouse. "Then you're even more of a boofhead than I thought."

"We wouldn't have this problem if Chase wasn't putting so much of his attention on _you_ trying to make sure you know where your loyalties lie!" Summer spat, eyes flashing. She crossed her arms, starting to pace back and forth. "None of this would have happened if he didn't take you in the first place!"

Avalon nearly laughed out loud. She had the same thoughts, but towards being a ranger at the very beginning. It was ironic how those simple thoughts described two different parts of her life. At Avalon's struggle to hide her laughter Summer let out a shriek and got up in the orange ranger's face.

"We were fine before you got here—"

Avalon scowled and dropped the baggie to her feet. She grabbed Summer by the hair and twisted her fist in it, wrenching the girl's head back and pulling her to her shoulder at the same time. Summer struggled to get away, but the orange ranger continued to tighten her grip on her hair so that every inch she moved, her hair was pulled. "Touch me again and I swear I'll break your neck," Avalon hissed into her ear. "What I'm doing is none of you goddamn business and if you try to get into it again, you'll fucking regret it." She shoved Summer away from her, propelling her across the warehouse.

"You bitch!" Summer swore. She started towards the orange ranger then seemed to think better of it. Turning on her heel, she stalked towards her room. "Chase made a big mistake bringing you here," she repeated.

With a growl, Avalon turned and punched the wall behind her.

…

..

.

Avalon let out a sigh as she walked into the Cranston house later that night. The den was empty, the TV off, a light left on. Glancing at her watch, Avalon saw that she had come back in time for curfew. Relaxing a little, she shifted the bag of powder against her side, peeling off her leather jacket and draping it over her arm. Perfect. She started to go up the stairs when she spotted a form on the couch. Leaning over the banister, Avalon caught a glimpse of Billy and Trini sitting o the couch; Trini had her head resting on Billy's shoulder as the two of them looked over a textbook, reading quietly. Avalon gave a brief smile then went up to hers and Bailey's room.

She passed the bathroom, hearing the shower running and knew her sister didn't have much longer to go in there. Bailey had a habit of taking short showers. Avalon's nerves immediately skyrocketed and she zipped into her room with her enhanced speed, knocking over her guitar as it rested in the corner. Her fingers pressed into the plastic bag as her dark eyes moved around the room. _Where can I hide this?_

"Oh, Avalon, I thought I heard you come in," Mrs. Cranston's voice sounded behind her.

Startled, Avalon whirled around, the bag still in my hand. Her eyes widened. "What?" She blurted out before she was able to stop herself. _Nice going, Av. Like she doesn't suspect anything from that lame excuse._

Mrs. Cranston chuckled as she entered the room, carrying a laundry basket. "I said, I didn't hear you come in," she said. "Billy told me that you went out to the library to study." Avalon lowered her gaze, immediately feeling a warm sense of gratitude for the blue ranger. Without having to ask he covered for her when he suddenly disappeared. She made a mental note to thank him for it later. "So how was school today? Are things getting easier?" She continued to look at Avalon with a level gaze and a sweet smile, and yet, Avalon started to sweat.

Numbly, Avalon started to nod. And…she couldn't stop. She nodded and nodded, like a giant bobble head that someone had flicked. Her hand tightened on the plastic bag, the palm suddenly filled with sweat. How much was she sweating? Did Mrs. Cranston notice? How could she not notice?

"Avalon, are you ok, sweetie?"

Avalon cringed as the word crashed into her brain. Sweetie? No! Any name but that.

Her stomach plummeted, burning a hole through her body. Mrs. Cranston's face took on a look of utmost concern; the burning hole expanded. Avalon's heart raced. Time slowed down around her like a candle flame in the wind. A deafening hum reached the orange ranger's ears as Mrs. Cranston's mouth opened and closed, the humming grew louder. Mrs. Cranston's mouth started to move faster and now she was pointing towards the floor. No, not at the floor, at the bag of cocaine in Avalon's hands.

Painfully, the world spun back to the dreaded moment I tried to block out. Avalon blinked at her. "Sorry, Lacey, what did you say?"

"What's that?" Mrs. Cranston held out her hand and started to walk towards her.

Avalon thought quickly, trying to think of the best excuse that would explain the situation. Why would she suddenly be holding a bag of white powder? "Its baking soda!" Avalon gave a small smile. "It's for a project at school."

"A volcano?"

"Maybe." Avalon nodded, moving the bag behind her back. "It's a surprise," she added, immediately squeezing her eyes shut. And now she was lying to one of the people that had gone out of their way and took her in. Some thank you.

"I hope things work out then," Mrs. Cranston said with a warm smile. She dropped the laundry basket on the floor by Avalon's bed and started towards the door again. "Though, if you need something stronger than baking soda, I'm sure David and I have a compound stronger than sodium bicarbonate that we can spare to help you out."

"No worries, Lacey," Avalon said quickly.

Mrs. Cranston smiled once more. "The offer still stands; let us know if you need any help."

"Sure." Avalon waited until Mrs. Cranston left the room, closing the door behind her, before walking over to her bed and shoving her arm down the back corner, where the headrest met the wall. Twisting her hand, Avalon pushed the bag of cocaine down in the small space. No one would find it there.

Avalon flopped face first down onto her bed. The burning hole in her stomach increased. Sighing, she pulled her arms up, resting them on the bed, burying her face in the blankets. Feverish shame filled tremors wrenched my gut and the orange ranger convulsed, shivering, squeezing her arms over her head. She let out a sound that was between a moan and a sigh, then the tears started to fall. Unable to turn her fears into words, Avalon started to cry.

A tiny tear rolled down her cheek at first, and then they came suddenly, unable to be stopped.

_I'm sorry._

Avalon's arms left her head, weighted by her secrets and lies. After a few moments of silence, Avalon felt something crawl into bed beside her and the orange ranger twisted around to see Bailey lying beside her. Her twitching eyebrows were the only indication of seeing Avalon cry. Bailey reached out and brushed her older sister's tears away.

"Goober," she murmured.

"Booger," Bailey replied.

Reaching an arm behind her head, Avalon grabbed a pillow and swiftly brought her arm back down, hitting Bailey in the face. Bailey shrieked and rolled out of her sister's way, grabbing another pillow and hitting her back. Avalon laughed, pushing her disheveled hair out of her face.

Bailey placed the pillow in her lap and rested her chin in her hands, looking up at me earnestly. "Why were you crying?"

"Don't worry," Avalon replied dismissively. "You wouldn't understand."

Bailey made a face of indignation. "Try me."

"Forget it." Moments like that were what drove Avalon forward every day. What, for her, made the sun rise and fall. What she looked forward to, being able to spend time with her sister and forget about the other things that she was doing. There was a quiet knock on the door and Avalon sat up, quickly brushing away the rest of her tears. "Come in," she called, after a moment.

The door opened and Billy stuck his head inside before walking in all the way. "I thought I heard you come in, I just wasn't sure."

"Too busy basking in the adoring gaze of a certain yellow ranger?" Bailey teased, laughing along with Avalon as Billy walked over and sat down on the end of her bed, crossing his legs. Instead of replying, Billy shrugged although there was a coy smile on his face.

Avalon brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. She rested her chin on her knees and studied Billy for a moment. She didn't understand how it was him that she ended up living with. In some ways she had expected Kimberly to be the ideal choice, as her house was bigger. Avalon had quickly dismissed the idea when the though came up, it would have been too awkward. Especially if the pink ranger had found out how many times the orange ranger and the Vipers had cased her extravagant house before having broken in to steal from them. As soon as Billy had offered her house, everyone around her had jumped on the bandwagon and before she knew it all of their stuff had started to get moved in.

Not that she was complaining being able to be in a stable home was a good change for her; she even started to see bits of herself that had changed. Though it didn't seem that all of her mannerisms and habit were going to go away anytime soon. She still had to get over the natural want to lie about something or keep it to herself when there wasn't a need to.

"Hey." Avalon reached out and placed her hand on Billy's knee. "Thanks for covering for me, Smurf. I didn't think I'd be getting back this late." She brushed her hair behind her shoulder. "Let's just be glad there wasn't anything important going on, yeah?" She carefully hid her bruised hand from sight, making a show of moving her legs into the Indian style position.

Billy ducked his head, shaking his fringe from his face. "Well, you already said that you'd be there to bail me out if there was ever a need for you to use your lifeguard training."

Avalon gave him a cheeky smile. "I said I'd give you a kiss too, mate. What are you trying to say?" At Billy's blush Avalon threw her head back and laughed. "I'm kidding, mate." She nudged his arm this time. "Seriously, thank you. You're a legend. Seriously. Thanks. You don't know how much it means to me."

"You're welcome," Billy said and the two rangers smiled at each other.

"Well, now that you're back and now that Billy and Trini are done studying I can tell you what I came up with," Bailey interrupted. She leaned over the side of the bed and reached under it, sticking out her hand. Steggy walked out from under the bed with a t-shirt draped over her heat. Laughing, Bailey removed the article of clothing and brought the stegosaurus zord up onto the bed. Avalon picked her up in her hands and gently nuzzled the zord. "You know how I've said to you before that destroying Rita's and Zedd's swords would be what would turn her back to normal?"

"Yeah," Avalon prompted her with a nod.

Bailey pushed her glasses up her nose then cracked her knuckles. She chewed her lower lip for a moment. "Well, after running lots of scans and test I've come to the conclusion that Rita's and Zedd's magic is much stronger when used together than by themselves. So how is it that Rita's magic alone was able to hold onto Steggy this long?"

Billy exchanged a look with Avalon and shrugged at Bailey. "Rita's magic has always had diverse effects on things. Her magic seems to have gotten stronger over the time we've been fighting them but not to the point where it's lasted this long." He drummed his fingers on his shin. "Do you think it has anything to do with the Healiodore?"

Avalon rapped her fingers not he side of her head. "Hello? I've been co-piloting your zord almost since I got mine." Her eyebrows rose. "We didn't even know about the Healiodore until now."

"Right, but how do we know that Rita and Zedd didn't?" Billy pointed out.

Avalon rested her chin in her hand and nodded. She looked over at Bailey once more. "So after the preliminary tests that I've been running, when not working on my science fair project—"

"—you mean making goo goo eyes at Fred," Avalon interrupted.

Billy chuckled. Bailey ignored her sister and continued. "I've come to the conclusion about Steggy." She reached out a hand and running her fingertips over the spikes on the zord's back. "What if Rita's and Zedd's magic already wore off."

Avalon snorted. "If that were the case, why hasn't she returned to normal?"

Bailey looked her in the eye. "Because you don't want her to."


	8. Family Ties

**Chapter 08**

_Family Ties_

* * *

 

"Ay yi yi yi yi, Zordon its worse than we thought," Alpha said, walking in tight circles around the Command Center. "My sensors indicate that there is something going on with our home planets." He made a whining sound. "I don't think I can take much more of this," he continued. "There's not much time left that we can help them."

Zordon lowered his gaze, slightly shaking his head. He could see how worked p the robot was becoming, more so than Zordon was himself. The robot had become more empathetic, compassionate, and… _real._ The former teams of rangers that had worked alongside Zordon through his years of stopping Rita hadn't had the same impact these human rangers did. He knew what Alpha was feeling, the two had become close friends during their time together. To the point that he was one of the few people—or things—that Zordon relied on when he was in a jam.

"I know, Alpha," Zordon agreed. "Though your sensors can indicate things more than I can or have been able to in recent years,"—He turned his gaze back towards his friend—"this is something that is affecting you dearly and me as well."

"I can just tell something's wrong on Edenoi," Alpha continued. He turned, placing his hands on an empty control panel, shaking his head. "I don't know what it is, but something is off, I can feel it. The balance of the planet is going wrong." With a wistful sigh, he walked back a few paces. "Everything that I remember of Edenoi, placed in my memory bank, it doesn't feel right anymore."

Zordon gave a slow, sad smile. "I understand what you're feeling entirely, Alpha. I have been feeling this way for a while and through Rita and Zedd now having the Azurite Healiodore, I've been feeling it more so now than ever before." His gaze moved around his tube, his prison for the last thousands of years. "It is not great, knowing that the fate of your home planet resides in those that are still native to them…and not being able to do anything to help them."

Alpha nodded, lowering his head. His memory band ignited, flashing his precious moments of living on Edenoi to him in a slide show. There were images of himself being constructed by King Lexian, being turned on for the first time, being able to experience everything there was about lithe startling feelings he encountered when he was powered on was overwhelming. He could see trees, sunlight, and the exotic animals native to his planet. They had been so scary at first, but King Lexian led the way, showing him everything that needed to be known about living, teaching him the many mysteries of the world.

Now all of that was starting to die. He could feel it deep in his joints and his sensors. Despite not having an actual heart, his figurative one was with everyone he knew back in the recesses of the universe and he was stuck on Earth, wondering what was going on.

"But that is why we are doing our best to keep the rangers' planet from befalling the same fate," Zordon reminded him. "No, we don't know what it is exactly that's happening back on Eltar or Edenoi, but you must have faith that they can hold on and defend themselves while we get the Healiodore back ourselves."

Alpha nodded, turning to a control panel and starting to move faders back and forth before pressing a few buttons. He couldn't help but want to get another glimpse into what was going on with his home planet, using the Command Center's own control panels and advanced technology—from the help of Billy and Bailey—he could get a better idea.

"As soon as the Healiodore is on our grasp we may be able to, finally, release me from this tube," Zordon continued. "Have the power to turn you into a true Edenoite, and rescue our planets from the clutches of evil that we know to be taking it over."

Alpha dropped his hands once more. "Do you really think it's possible?" It was the first time that he was expressing his doubt throughout their plan. Keeping it from the rangers didn't sit entirely well with him, though he understood there were many things that they would know in time, this was different. This was something that they were a pivotal part in and they were being kept in the dark.

"If you believe in the rangers as much as we have before…" Zordon trailed off for a moment. "We haven't had reason to doubt the rangers before; we should not doubt them now."

"Yes, Zordon, I completely understand."

Alpha glanced over at his side as the Ankylosaurus power morpher started to glow.

* * *

 

"Flight 2894, Sydney, Australia to Angel Grove, California has now arrived. Please take care when retrieving your bags from the overhead bins, have a great day, and thank you for flying Oceanic airlines."

Ellie smiled as leaned over to look out the window. Everything looked the same to her, yet so different at the same time. The angelic blue water was as relaxing as ever, giving her a sense of comfort amongst the anxiety that riddled her body. It was her first time in America let alone Angel Grove. Add in the anxiety of seeing her children again for the first time in years and she was ready to make a permanent camp in the bathroom. She had been out of her seat and up and down the aisles so often that the flight attendant asked if she needed some sort of medication to have an easy flight.

Embarrassed, Ellie forced herself to stay in her seat. Her mind wandered, wondering what her kids would have been like now. Bailey, she was sure, would have won some sort of prize in some sort of science competition. She had always been spouting out at the mouth about what her class had studied in their science classes. She excelled in math and had become so smart so quickly Ellie had wanted to move her up a few grade levels until she felt she was being challenge. William, on the other hand, had denied the idea as soon as he heard it, stubbornly stating that it was better for her development if she stayed with kids her age.

Ellie gently shook her head. She knew for sure, that was where Avalon got her stubborn streak from, her father. They were the only two she knew of that could hold a grudge for the longest time until the other person cracked. Her headstrong attitude could get her into trouble with authority like no one's business—the thought of how many times Ellie had been called to the principal's office for talking back was laughable. But on the other hand, Ellie had noted Avalon's stubbornness had given her a natural leadership quality as well as being unafraid to stand up for what she believed in.

 _God knows she's going to put that mouth of hers in overdrive when I get there,_ Ellie thought, gently shaking her head. It was the only reaction she was expecting, intense anger, frustration, and betrayal. She hoped they would at least sit down and listen to what she had to say. Especially when it came her knowing Avalon was a power ranger, Bailey was helping her out, and that they were in more trouble than they originally thought.

Ellie's hands clenched into fists, a wave of anger washing over her. She couldn't help it, when it came to William's experiments and constant work in the government, doing whatever it was he used as a cover for said experiments. Knowing how much he had lied to her about his life, not knowing that he had been married had kids before, it still made her sick.

"Excuse me, ma'am, you can leave the plane now."

Ellie looked up and smile warmly at the stewardess before gracefully unfolding herself from her seat. Reaching above her head, she took her purse and tote bag and slung them over her shoulders before gently making her way down the aisle and out of the plane. Reaching a hand up to shield her face from the filtering sunlight, she sauntered through the tunnel and into the Angel Grove airport.

"Good afternoon."

"Hello."

"Hope you enjoy your stay here, but keep an eye out for those monsters."

Ellie's smile widened at the cheerfulness everyone exuded as she passed them. No wonder Angel Grove was one of the highest ranked cities to live in. No wonder the people there were so happy and helpful towards each other. If it wasn't for the constant smog cloud that seemed to reign over the city, it would be the perfect place to live.

Ellie left the airport and turned to try and find a taxi. She blinked in stunned surprise when one suddenly appeared out of nowhere, screeching to a halt in front of her. Ellie climbed into the backseat, directing the driver to her hotel. Leaning her forehead against the window, she looked out at Angel Grove as it whizzed by.

Her eyes shot upwards towards a slight green flash in the sky.

 _That's strange,_ she thought, trying to figure out the source of the light. _I guess I'm going to have to get used to it._

* * *

 

Jason sucked in a deep breath, lowering himself to the floor and starting a series of push-ups. Once that was finished, he got back to his feet and went over to the mirror, flexing his arms and poking at his muscle definition. He frowned, turning to the side and lifting up his shirt, looking over his stomach muscles as well. He was fitter than most guys his age, even those that were older than him and lived their lives in health and fitness. His constant work with martial arts had helped and yet…he still wasn't satisfied.

Walking over to his desk he picked up a bottle and unscrewed the cap. Pinching his fingers together he lifted the dropper out of the bottle and over a water bottle that sat on the edge of his desk. He released a few drops into the water, replaced the dropper, and then shook up the water bottle before taking a long gulp. The bitter taste reached the back of his throat and he felt his face screw up at the taste, he was getting used to it, but it still sucked.

At a knock on his door, Jason quickly grabbed the bottle and threw it into a desk drawer, whirling around as his father entered the room. "Hey Dad," he greeted him. "What's up?" When Caine Scott reached out his hand, Jason took it and the two came together in a man hug, slapping each other on the back. Caine shot him a meaningful look out of the corner of his eye. "Please don't tell me that Bulk and Skull actually became a part of the junior police officer program." He sat down on the end of his bed, picking up a dumbbell off the floor and curling it towards himself.

Caine gave a half smile. "What makes you think I'd know about that?"

"I thought police officers and lawyers were like this." Jason wrapped his index and middle fingers around each other. "It seems like it, anyway. You guys like to gossip about whatever is going on in all of Angel Grove. You seem to know about everything that goes on in the city."

"It's my job to know," Caine replied, his half smile turning into a smirk. He ran his hands over his face then crossed his arms over his chest. "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk to you about _you_." Jason raised an eyebrow. He slowed his movements, but didn't stop completely. "How are you feeling? Being in the hospital and all?"

"Fine," Jason said shortly. His eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I just think that there may be something wrong," Caine continued. There was a slight lift to his tone but the forceful tone hiding underneath that lightheartedness was unmistakable. Jason had heard it enough over the years that he was able to detect it quickly, usually whenever he would receive a bad grade on a test or quiz or paper. Jason continued to watch his father, as Caine watched his son. Finally, Caine sucked in a sharp breath. "So I was going through my workout supplies, looking to see where I am with my protein powders and shakes and everything and I noticed that I seem to be missing a bottle of Duradeca." His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

Jason dropped his dumbbell to the ground before sitting up straight, rubbing his hands on the legs of his pants, palms suddenly flooding with sweat. "No. Why would I?"

Caine bobbed his head to the side. "Just asking a question."

"I already gave you my answer," Jason insisted, borderline snapping at his father.

A vein twitched in Caine's neck. He pressed his lips together for a moment before speaking once more. "You do know the side effects of things like that right? Apart from your hair falling out and the terrible mood swings, there's always the chance of heart attack because of cholesterol problems, kidneys failing, liver failure, and you know, your skin just completely breaks out and—"

"Dad!" Jason stood up, glaring at his father. "I already answered your _damn_ question! I'm not taking any of your steroids, if anything you may have misplaced it." He lowered his voice, trying to sound calm this time. "But I'll keep an eye out if I do." He reached over and picked up his backpack from the ground. "I have a project that I need to work on, a lot of homework too, do you mind if I go and get it done before dinner?"

Caine slowly nodded. "Go ahead." Jason moved to step around him and Caine grabbed onto the red ranger's arm. "Listen, Jase, I know you're under a lot of stress at school and all of your extracurricular activities, and hanging out with your friends and everything, but if there ever is anything wrong, you know you can talk to me." He gently tightened his grip, his eyes searching Jason's. "Or your mother, you know that we just want to see you enjoying as much as you can out of life."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, Dad, I know." He ran a hand through his hair. "There's nothing that's bothering me. Really. I'm just getting caught up with everything. I mean, football season is starting up, I'm still working on martial arts, I'm still teaching all of my lessons and I still have to find time to do my homework and hang out with my friends." He shrugged. "Yeah, I may be a bit stressed but I wouldn't be dumb enough to want to do something like that and jeopardize everything."

Caine raised an eyebrow.

Jason knew what he was thinking and decided to change the subject, not wanting to prove his father right.

"I need to get my homework done, Dad," Jason said, now sounding more like himself. He even had a bright smile on his face. "But afterwards I'll be sure to sit and listen to all of the new cases you're taking on and what bothers you about each and every one of them."

Caine rolled his eyes. "You're going to pay for that one."

"Hey." Jason shrugged. "Mom's the one that acts like they're all interesting, I have to play devil's advocate." Sticking out his tongue at his father, Jason stepped around him and quickly bounded down the stairs and out the front door. He ducked around the side of the house and slid into the shadows. Bringing his hands up, he focused his attention on his communicator, teleporting to the Command Center.

Once he landed, Jason tossed his bag to the ground and leaned against a control panel, rubbing his hands over his face. His father's words bounced around in his head, each one vying for attention as his own calming words tried to drown them out.

"Jason?" The red ranger turned as Zordon appeared inside his power tube. "Is there anything wrong?"

Quickly shaking his head, Jason crossed his arms and pushed himself away from the control panel. There wasn't anything in particular that was wrong. Having been put into the hospital and then getting beaten so easily by Goldar, all because of his managing to get a power gem none of them had heard of before.

"No," he finally replied. "I'd just like to get some homework done here if that's alright with you guys." In the silent seconds that passed, Jason felt his irritation start to rise, quicker than ever before. Why was everyone asking so much of him lately? All he was trying to do was to get his homework done so that there was a tiny part of his stress taken away from him. Why was he being treated like he was committing some sort of crime?

 _Or maybe you're just taking things too seriously,_ he thought. He immediately pushed the thought away. He wasn't the problem. Everyone else was.

"Jason," Zordon started. "My sensors indicate that there is something that is causing you to act in a way that isn't up to your usual standards."

Alpha shuffled in a circle, turning to face the red ranger. "Did you get entrapped by a spell from Rita and Zedd?" He questioned. Jason rolled his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose and turning away from the two mentors that had been working with him since he agreed to lead the team. If he had done everything they wanted, no questions asked, why were they prying into his business this time? "If that is the case, Jason, then we can help."

"Can I stay here and get some work done? Yes or no?" Jason snapped, his voice echoing through the Command Center. "God It's not a hard question." He dropped his hand from his nose. "I just need some peace and quiet to get some homework done and this is the perfect place. But if you don't want me her—"

"Its fine, Jason," Alpha said, as kind as ever. "Stay here as long as you need to get your 'homework' done." Alpha's use of air quotes around the word made Jason laugh, though he felt a twinge of guilt deep in his gut. He knew the two were just worried about him and he had blown it out of proportion.

Jason reached up a hand and placed it on Alpha's shoulder. "Thanks Alpha," he said in a low murmur.


	9. The Story So Far

**Chapter 09**

_The Story So Far_

* * *

 

Rita laughed as she watched Goldar exhibit his new powers once more. She had laughed hysterically, an evil cackle that resonated throughout the Lunar Palace when she watched him throw the rangers around like rag dolls as soon as he had the chance. Now that she had sent him out to face them once more, the rangers didn't stand a chance. Of course she could have used the rest of her horoscope monsters, but what was the point when Goldar was able to defeat them with just a swipe of his sword? A shockwave would come out and destroy anything in its path, immediately disintegrating it. So far the power brats had managed to keep from being completely destroyed, which always seemed within her grasp. But right before she could taste that victory they were teleported away or Golda would lose control of the powers and have to be brought back.

Someday soon they would get the rangers.

Not that she didn't have a backup plan up her sleeve. It was Zedd's idea, really. He had been the one that thought of attacking Edenoi and Eltar, to settle the score against the mentor the rangers went to day after day. He was the one that had been their biggest rival in the war that had decimated planets and galaxies in its entirety. Why not find a way to get back at them by hitting their weak spot?

Kill two birds with one stone, keep the rangers exhausted and running around; soon they wouldn't be able to keep themselves awake let alone to keep three different worlds safe. All they had to do was continue to put the pressure on and wait for the right moment to reveal their plan in its entirety.

"I don't know why I'm asking because I enjoy the silence, but what are you thinking, my dear?" Zedd came up behind her, tapping his fingers against the metal of his staff. Rita slowly turned to him, not wanting to take her eyes off the Earth as it loomed down below them. He glanced at her. "I don't believe I've seen you so happy. Not even with our wedding."

Rita rolled her eyes. Of course the wedding had started off with a plan of hers, giving him a potion to have him fall in love with her. Goldar had been against the love between them from the very beginning and tries to break them apart, but Zedd had overcome the potion and really did fall in love with her. And as much as she did love her husband, she found many things about him irritating, especially his monster snoring. Nevertheless as long as they were able to continue to drive the rangers to the ground she could over look it.

"I'm wondering how much longer it'll take to finally take over Earth, defeat those power brats, and take over the rest of the universe," Rita replied. She waved her scepter around. "Think about it Zeddy. We could have the humans work for us, vacation on Mars, take trips to the Milky Way…all between the takeover of the other galaxies." She grinned, excitement rising at the prospect. "Soon we'll take over the entire universe! And no one can stop us!" She punctuated her sentence by stabbing her wand into the air. The red bulb on top started to glow, sending out sparks of red lightning.

"Of course my dear," Zedd agreed in a low grumble. He turned back towards the Earth. "With the power we have from Goldar, it won't be much longer until everything the rangers are working for falls at their feet." He spun his staff around in his hands, turning back to her. "But why don't we speed up the process a little?"

Rita scurried to his side. "What do you mean?" She snapped.

"I mean, you loud mouth, that we've seen before, the quickest way to break a ranger down is by attacking what they love the most."

"Really? I've never noticed that."

Rita's sarcasm was not lost on Zedd. He slowly turned his head and glared at her, his body started to pulse with a red light. Rita wasn't stupid. As much as she liked to antagonize her husband, to bicker with him as much as she could, she knew the amount of power he held. He had managed to take an entire zord and threaten any planet that got in his way. The ruthlessness that Zedd exhibited was far greater than that of Rita's and she knew if she went too far over the line he could get rid of her easier than it would be to crush a worm under his foot. Despite their love for each other, she knew he wouldn't hesitate to put her into another space dumpster and blow it up with her inside.

"As I was saying, the way to defeating the rangers once and for all is to take away what they love the most," Zedd continued. "And we've seen that firsthand. They would do anything for their parents over the rest of those Angel Grove morons." His grip tightened on his staff, a hint of malice lacing the edge of his voice. "Even give up their power coins. How far do you really think they would go if we pushed hard enough?"

Rita slowly smiled then tilted her head back and laughing loudly. Zedd let out a sigh that sounded like a growl, before turning his head away, waiting for her to finish. As Rita continued with her malicious laughter, Zedd ran through a few different plans through his head. Which would be the best way to go about this? Continue to run the rangers into the ground and then strike? Use all of the combined powers together at once to disintegrate them as well as the planet? Revive Serpentera and have it destroy the city and keep their parents captive once more?

The possibilities were endless.

"Are you done?" Zedd finally asked.

Rita broke off her laughter and swung her wand around, hitting Zedd in the knee. He started to glow red once more, watching as Rita turned on her heel and walked further into the Lunar Palace. Zedd waited a few moments, knowing that Goldar was around somewhere. He had always been a bit of a sniffling fool, but he was loyal to Zedd and the loyalty was what was keeping him alive at that point, otherwise he would have been cast out with the others when he got the chance.

"My liege." Goldar announced his presence to Zedd, walking over to him. "Allow me to be the one that breaks the rangers. I'm still getting used to my new powers and I could use the target practice." His red eyes glowed with intent. "Being able to control it while using it on the rangers…soon we'll be unstoppable."

"I'm not going to risk you messing up another plan because we have to bring you back to this palace," Zedd turned Goldar down. "For now we'll continue to use you as a last minute thing. Besides…continuing to torture the rangers with their defeat humors me."

* * *

 

Avalon, Trini, and Kimberly were sent flying onto the ground as Goldar's sword caught them across their fronts. Jason charged overhead, his power sword clashing with Goldar's sword, releasing a blue blast of energy that sent him flying as well. Zack, Tommy, and Billy tried to get off the ground, struggling to their knees as Goldar let out a victorious laugh, raising his sword overhead.

Like the battles before, he suddenly disappeared, being brought back to the Lunar Palace. Tommy slammed a fist against the ground, watching him disappear. They had been defeated again. "Is everyone alright?" He called out. He let out a sigh of relief, getting weak responses, but at least everyone seemed to be OK. "Let's get back."

The power rangers teleported to the Command Center and took off their helmets. All seven of them held expressions of disappointment on their faces which were, otherwise, smeared with soot and dust. Bailey walked over to each ranger, taking their helmets from them and placing them on a metal cart. Some of them had cracks in the protective shields for their eyes, Zack's was completely cracked open, and Trini's looked like a spider web had spun its web all over the front of hers. Bailey exchanged a glance with Alpha and shook her head as she started to push the cart out of the room.

If their helmets had gotten that bad from the fight with Goldar, who knew how much longer they would be able to last. Their suits had patches where the material had burned away, revealing some of their skin. They all looked fed up.

"What are we going to do, Zordon?" Trini asked their mentor. "Goldar just seems to be getting stronger and stronger each time we face him." She shook her head, long ponytail shaking behind her as she did so. "We can't win."

"Don't give up rangers," Alpha chided.

"Alpha is right rangers," Zordon said to the group of teenagers. "You have faced countless battles like this, some stronger than others, and you've all come out stronger than you thought."

Avalon snorted, tilting her head to the side. "That was before we nearly get disintegrated into dust each time an energy blast is sent out way." Lifting her head into its original position she waved a hand. "You know, apart from the fact that my zord is still pocket sized."

"Guys, Alpha and Zordon are right," Tommy broke in. He leaned against a control panel as the other rangers turned their attention to him. He licked his lips, taking a moment to think. "We've faced so many different things and monsters before and we always manage to beat them and we always do it as a team. Right now…this is just a setback, once we find out what the Azurite Healiodore can do as a whole, and then we can find a way to defeat Goldar."

"Every source of power has its weakness," Billy agreed. He gave a helpless shrug. "I just wish I knew how to figure out the weakness of this one." He brought a gloved hand up to his chin and started to rub it. "I mean, this is a gem that's origins date back to being from another planet, if I could get a sample of it, and then I could figure out the components and go from there."

Kimberly gently shook her head. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Billy; we're all trying our best." She gave him a kind smile, placing her hand on his shoulder. Billy smiled back at her, but the doubt remained in his eyes. "The only thing we can do now is get some rest and try again when Rita and Zedd send down their next monster."

"Kim's right," Jason concurred. "We can't focus on the things we haven't been able to do. We just have to keep trying."

After having been quiet throughout the whole exchange, Zack finally made his presence known. He kicked the side of a control panel, causing Alpha to go into a bit of distress, having been startled. Bailey came to a sudden stop, dropping Jason's helmet to the ground. He shot her nasty glare, which she noticed and quickly turned away, picking up the helmet and replacing it on the rack. Kimberly and Trini exchanged concerned glances, he had never been so angry before, especially not at Bailey.

"If we knew who that new morpher was supposed to go to, we wouldn't have this problem," Zack snapped. He waved an arm. "Even if that person was evil or didn't want to join us, the extra ranger could at least do _something_."

"Zack," Alpha said, his voice conveying worry.

"I'm sorry, but I'm tired of not knowing," Zack apologized. He licked his lips. "I'm tired of not knowing when it'll be the last time we'll see everything around here. Goldar is really strong; we've seen him blow up a tree to the point where it was like it didn't exist. And Rita's and Zedd's monsters are getting stronger and stronger and we're doing everything we can just to stay alive." He threw his hands into the air. "What happens when we finally lose?"

"The earth goes to shit, Rita and Zedd take over the universe, Angel Grove has the largest funeral they've ever had at one time, and the power rangers will be over," Avalon said simply. She raised and lowered her right shoulder in a shrug. "I'm not sure how that's not clear, mate." Her words were met with silence. She had just said everything the other rangers were too afraid to even think about. It was the one thing that was in the back of their minds. What would happen if Rita, Zedd, and Goldar really _did_ manage to destroy them and take over the world? As Avalon said, everything would go to shit, the rangers would be no more, and the worst part of it would have been that they had failed.

Zack swallowed tickly. "Yeah…that…"

Alpha turned from the rangers and walked over to the Power Cube that was sitting underneath a glass case. He opened the case and carefully picked up the cube. It continued to glow a red and a purplish color. Those powers were going o go to Jason and Zack, so far, there had been certain moments that had showed they were ready to take over the power. Avalon had gotten hers almost immediately, Billy had gotten his while fighting Arieselle, and Trini got hers while fighting Goldar and Piscessen, Kimberly received hers while fighting Goldar. Maybe that was the key, they weren't able to have the amount of power and drive needed unless they really were fighting for their lives. Now that Goldar had the Azurite Healiodore, what was keeping them from receiving the powers now?

"This Power Coin appeared at the same time the Power Cube had come into existence," Alpha continued. "And we all know it stemmed from the powers that Avalon has along with her enhanced strength and speed."

"It comes in handy with chores and working out," Avalon admitted. "But it doesn't seem to be making a difference when it comes to our fighting."

"That's because some of your powers are synthetic not what you were destined to," Zordon explained. Billy chewed his lower lip, exchanging a glance with Trini. She twisted her mouth to the side and looked away from him, hoping her expression didn't give away what she was feeling. "You were pre-determined to have the powers of the Stegosaurus; however the others that have been bestowed upon you have not been completed, so that you are stronger in some areas but weaker in others. It's also the way we've been able to get the added abilities for the other rangers when the time came."

"What does it mean for the Ankylosaurus ranger then?" Kimberly asked, tapping her cheek. Her eyebrows were lowered in confusion. "Because it seems like we would be the only ones to get the powers from the Cube."

"We won't know until the ranger makes themselves known," Alpha replied. He replaced the Power Cube in its glass case and picked up the power morpher. It glowed for a moment as he turned to show it to the rangers. Bailey, who had put away the helmets, walked back over to the rangers, looking over the power morpher.

"As Alpha and Zordon acknowledged previously, this power morpher has the capability to choose who the master of the power is," Bailey reminded her. "Considering the background of the Ankylosaurus in general, compared to the rest of the dinosaurs and animals that you all encompass, we don't know the strength this power has or whether or not it will mesh with the powers that you already have."

"But we have to try," Jason insisted. "Maybe there's a way for us to figure out who the recipient will be before its chosen."

Zordon gave him a calming smile. "Right now, what you need to do is get some rest. You won't be at the top of your game if you don't allow yourself to take some time to relax and worry about yourselves."

The rangers nodded.

Bailey turned back to the power morpher as it glowed once more.

She hoped they would find the ranger soon, but by her suspicion, it was someone they already knew.

* * *

 

"Do you think if we told our teachers that we're the power rangers they'd stop giving us so much homework?" Zack asked the next morning. He stretched out his legs on the front steps of Angel Grove High, resting his arms on the step behind him. Tilting his head back, he looked up at the blue ranger, who was sitting in the same position he was, though Trini was sitting between his legs, resting her arms on his legs, hands draped over his knees. "I bet you already had the homework for the week done as soon as last week ended."

Billy gave a smug smile, crossing his arms. "No one like's a sore loser, Zack."

Tommy, Kimberly, Jason, and Trini laughed as Zack reached out and shook Billy's shoulder. Billy winced as Zack dug his fingers into one of the bruises he sustained from the fight the day before. Trini noticed the movement and gently rubbed Billy's thigh, her shoulders slumped as she sighed a little.

"I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to keep my eyes open today," Kimberly complained, resting her head on Tommy's shoulder. "As soon as I got home yesterday, you guys, I was out like a light when my head hit the pillow." She shook her head, stifling a yawn. "I don't think I'm going to get through my classes without falling asleep."

"Really?" Jason looked around at the rangers. "I don't feel tired at all."

"As soon as he got home yesterday he did a workout," Zack pointed out.

"And he was sparring in the front yard this morning," Tommy added.

"Oh!" Kimberly reached behind her and pinched Jason's bicep. "No wonder your muscles look extra big today." Tommy made a noise of displeasure and Kimberly gently patted him on the arm before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Jason shrugged and started to gently run his fingers over his arm muscles. His knees started to rev up and down. His eyes moved over to his backpack where the mesh pocket bulged out where the small bottle of steroids sat. He swallowed thickly and turned away. He didn't want to get caught up in the guilt again. His father's stern gaze was still burned in his memory, already starting to shame him more than he thought it would. A slamming car door caught his attention and he an t

"Don't ask," Avalon said in a warning tone as she sat down, dropping her backpack at her feet. She stuck a hair tie in her mouth, hold it with her teeth, using both hands to pull her long hair back into a ponytail then tied it with the hair tie hanging from her mouth. "There was something I had to do and I'm sure you lot don't want to know the details." She let out a heavy sigh, resting her hand on her cheek. "Is anyone else as tired as I am?"

"Yeah," came the unanimous reply.

Avalon smiled a little. It had been a rough night, after having been beaten so badly. She, Billy, and Bailey had gone back to the Cranston house, had dinner, and then immediately went to sleep. Avalon had been woken up by whimpers and looked over to see Bailey tossing and turning, holding onto her blankets so tightly it looked like she was about to rip them in half. Once Avalon had managed to wake her sister up, she let her sister sleep in her bed so she would stay comforted. Bailey had fallen back asleep pretty quickly, though Avalon had found herself up for a while longer, her mind racing a mile a minute. Then early that morning she had been told by Chase that she needed to get to the warehouse and when she arrived she found that it was time for them to do another hit for money.

They had gone to an antique shop that was just opening it up, held the elderly man and woman at gunpoint, robbed the store, took more of the valuable items to the pawn shop for even more money, then went back to the warehouse to make sure everything was split evenly. Avalon had been sluggish throughout the whole plan, not saying and word and deciding to stay as a lookout rather than participating in it directly. Maybe she was really starting to feel guilty about it. The year before she would have charged inside and barked orders as soon as she was told what her part of the plan was. Now she wanted nothing but to get away from it and the quicker she could do that…what?

Sure, her life would get better but everyone would still be intimidated by her outward appearance, they would still know her involvement in The Vipers, it had been in the papers when she admitted to some of the recent crimes they had committed. She still had to do the community service and check in with a parole officer every day. Was that really better than doing whatever she wanted when she wanted and juggling that with being a power ranger.

 _I fucking hope so,_ Avalon thought. She brought her hands up and used the heels of her palms to rub her eyes, yawning loudly. "I think I'm going to die."

"Well your pep-talk yesterday was really rousing," Jason commented, smirking at her.

"So are your pecs, Rudolph" Avalon shot back, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "I think I see some man boobs coming on, mate." She flashed the red ranger a sweet smile—which he returned with a roll of his eyes—as the rangers laughed. The bell rang and they all stood up, gathering their backpacks and bags. They shuffled inside along with the other Angel Grove High students. Stopping at their lockers, the grabbed their books for their first class and filed into the room just as Ms. Appleby was about to close the door.

"My you kids look like you haven't slept in a while," She said with a light laugh, her eyes moving over the colorful superheroes as they sat in their seats. "I hope everything is OK."

"Everything's fine, Ms. Appleby," Trini said reassuringly. She sat in her seat, pulling out a notebook and a pen. "We've just been working really hard with our studies and clubs and everything." Ms. Appleby looked at the seven for a long moment before turning away from them to write on the chalkboard.

Avalon stretched out her legs underneath the desk in front of her, resting her chin in her hand as she watched Ms. Appleby. There was something about the way she had looked at them all when they had entered the room that seemed a bit…suspicious. It probably wasn't the best word used to describe it. But there was definitely something that she knew that the rangers didn't. There was a tiny glint in her eyes, maybe of amusement. Avalon couldn't quite put her finger on it and it was that that made her feel uneasy. Not knowing, not being able to control something was one of her biggest fears. In away, she was sure; it was how she had agreed to join the Vipers so readily. She was terrified of what would happen to her and Bailey if they didn't find a place to live or things to eat. Not knowing what would happen the next day and worrying about her sister's well-being had been what drove her to her own personal hell and was what kept her there for so long.

Dropping her hand, Avalon opened her notebook and tried her hardest to pay attention as Ms. Appleby taught the lesson for that day. After the first twenty minutes, Avalon's eyes started to wander around the room. With the exception of Billy, the other rangers seemed to be having the same problem. Kimberly was trying in vain to keep her eyes open, Zack was doodling in his notebook, Trini was drumming her fingers on the desk, Jason was looking over some sort of chart—which Avalon guessed to be a workout schedule, and Tommy was reading the book assigned for English class under his desk. Billy sat straight up in his seat, dutifully taking notes and raising his hand to answer whatever question was asked.

Turning her head in the opposite direction, Avalon glanced at the empty desks that sat in the back of the classroom where Bulk and Skull used to sit. _Too bad Bulk and Skull got expelled, watching them make fools of themselves was a highlight during class,_ She thought. _And would keep Ms. Appleby from noticing I didn't do my homework._ Avalon dropped her head, covering her head with her free hand, moving to an empty page in her notebook and trying to do the short essay assignments from the night before.

She had become so engrossed in them that she hadn't heard the class go quiet until Ms. Appleby's footsteps reached her eyes. Looking up, Avalon noticed the middle-aged teacher walking over to the door to the classroom. She pulled it open far enough to look out, but not for the students to see who was interrupting the class.

"Yes, may I help you?"

A seat in front of her and to the left, Avalon could see Jason's shoulders tense. Zack sat up straight in his seat. She knew the two of them were thinking of the time Chase had come to the school looking for her, and then attacked her in the hallways. It was what she thought about every time she heard footsteps down an empty corridor. Either that or Rita and Zedd saw how successful sending their putties down during school had been during that exact same time. No matter which way she saw it, butterflies erupted in Avalon's stomach whenever someone was at the door and she couldn't see them.

"Yes, I'm looking for my daughter. She's supposed to be in this class."

Avalon immediately recognized the velvety, accented voice and before she could stop herself, an audible gasp escaped her lips. Her friends turned her way and having taken one look at her face, they knew she knew who was at the door. Still, Avalon stayed rooted to the spot as Ms. Appleby opened the door further and invited Ellie Mitchell into the classroom.

"Mum?" Avalon finally managed to find her voice. For the first time in her life she didn't sound confident. Her fingers curled into her palms, her knees started to shake, and she was sure she would pass out at any second. "Mum?"

"Hey sweetie," Ellie Mitchell returned with a bright smile.

"Avalon, it seems that your mother would like to have a word with you," Ms. Appleby said to the orange ranger with a bright smile. "Feel free to take a few minutes."

"Thanks." Avalon slowly rose from her seat and gathered her books and backpack. She followed her mother out of the classroom, gently closing the door behind them. She turned to her mother, who stood in front of her, smiling warmly. Ellie's eyes turned misty as the seconds passed, her eyes trying to drink in every part of her eldest daughter before she opened her arms and hugged her.

Avalon surprised herself by reaching her arms up and wrapping them around her mother, hugging her tightly. She smelled like roses, exactly as Avalon remembered. Her hug was as tender and calming just as any mother's was and Avalon found her eyes welling up the longer she held onto her mother. Ellie pulled back and cupped Avalon's face in her hands, smiling warmly at her. She used her thumb to push away a tear that escaped Avalon's eyes, rolling down her cheek.

"I don't know why I'm crying," Avalon murmured, embarrassed. She hadn't known how she would react when she finally saw her mother again and now…Avalon took a step back. She was angry at her. She had left them all for drugs and wanting to have her own life. Well, she could just keep that life she wanted. Avalon's eyes hardened and she took a step back away from Ellie. "What are you doing here?" Her voice come out as a hiss.

Ellie raised an eyebrow. "I see your father has been telling you a lot of things," she said, her melodic voice taking on a sarcastic tone. Avalon heel turned and headed towards her locker. Ellie followed behind her, her high heels clacking as she went. "I want you to know what he's said isn't true."

"So you didn't abandon us?" Avalon snapped. "Sorry, I thought not being around for three years meant that."

"No. Avalon, there's a lot that you don't understand."

"That's an understatement."

"If you'd give me a chance to explain, then you'd see that I'm not as bad a person as you think I am," Ellie continued, matching her stride. Avalon stopped at her locket and opened the door. She pretended to look for her books for her next class, but her mind was so confused she just stood there, staring at the notebooks, folders and textbooks resting on the bench. She stared at the back of the metal locker, trying to figure out what to say. Ellie moved up next to Avalon, opened the door further. "Avalon?"

"Fuck off, Mum," Avalon finally found something to say. "You don't deserve it." She reached out a hand to close her locker door, but stopped when Ellie firmly grabbed onto her wrist. She turned towards her mother, glaring up at her, surprised to find Ellie glaring back. _That's where I got it from,_ Avalon thought. She resembled her mother more than her father.

"Whether you like it or not, Avalon, I'm still your mother and I will not allow you to speak to me that way," Ellie said firmly. "Now, if you're done throwing a temper tantrum and hang on a tick before your next class, there are a lot of things we need to talk about." She lowered her hand, her eyes following the movement. Avalon quickly pulled her hand back, but it was too late. "What's that?"

"A tattoo," Avalon replied coolly, silently daring her mother to say something about it.

Ellie nodded. She hitched her purse up over her shoulder and took a step back, giving Avalon room to close her locker door. Letting out a sigh that seemed to come from the tips of her toes, the orange ranger closed her locker door and turned to her mother, nodding. Ellie gave a grateful smile and walked out of the front of Angel Grove high, carefully sitting down on the front steps as the rangers had done before. Avalon sat down next to her, feet in front of her, hands dropped down and dangling between her legs.

"Avalon, what you and Abigail need to know—"

"She goes by Bailey," Avalon interrupted.

Ellie smiled. "She always had insisted on that," she said. Ellie pushed her blonde hair away from her dark eyes her smile fading. "I know it's been a long time but I need you to know that I haven't stopped thinking about you and your sister since…what happened between me and your father."

"You mean before I was shipped out here?" Avalon spat.

Ellie nodded grimly. "What you need to know, sweetie, is that we weren't as happy as you and Bailey thought we were." Avalon's eyes slowly narrowed. "Yes, there was a time when we were in love, but I wasn't in love with the man your father was. I was in love with his image. You see, I thought he was a single man that was working with the government. Turns out, while he didn't lie, he wasn't exactly upfront with what he really was." She gently shook her head. "The boofhead," she added. Avalon continued to stare at her. Ellie took a deep breath and continued. "You see, your father…he was doing experiments while working with the government, making different sources of energy and working alongside those that are experts in machinery. Unbeknownst to me, he was studying different extraterrestrial attacks that the Earth had seen before and was trying to find a way to prevent them. It was with that studying he had heard about these beings called Power Rangers."

Avalon could feel her face blanch. She did her best not to look her mother directly in the eye or down at her power morpher. Discreetly, she moved her hand up to cover her communicator.

"And with that knowledge, knowing there had never been a set of rangers that were on earth and set out trying to make powers for humans to take over to become rangers as well, so that in case the earth was attacked again, they could defend it." Ellie sighed. "Well, one day he was testing it out in the garage and you walked inside and were hit by the beam that held the power. When your father told me I was furious, I demanded that he would keep that work away from you and Bailey and then this happened. He and I watched you for days, to see if there was anything different about you and when nothing happened, he became irate; disappointed that I hadn't worked, and effectively shut himself off of the world to keep trying. I was tired of being ignored and I didn't want that in my home, it as the final straw to the relationship that we had and I gave him the ultimatum that we if he didn't stop, I was going to leave him and take you and Bailey with me."

Avalon blinked, all of the angry tension leaving her. "What?"

"As soon as I told him that, he freaked out and we took it to court to see who would have custody. You see, your father and I were never married when we had you and Bailey. We were going to that point before…everything happened. So when it came up in court they saw a woman that had no job as she was a stay at home mom and a man that worked for the government who had the money to give you two everything you wanted. I fought hard, but I lost custody. I couldn't see you at all. So, I started to work hard, I got a job and did everything I could be sure I could be a good mother to you two. When I came back I was told that…you were gone. William had sent you to live with his sister and that was that."

Ellie took Avalon's hand in hers. "I still plan on becoming your mother again; it just took me this long to find you. Your father didn't want to tell me at first—"

"He knows where I am?" Avalon's eyebrows twitched. "That we've been living here…what we've been through?"

Ellie nodded. Her eyes moved to Avalon's tattoo and she placed her hand in her daughter's. "I know about the trouble you've been in, where you've been living, how things are going for you now. And I want things to get better for you."

"Wait. Just. Wait." Avalon brought her hands up to her head and took in a few deep breaths. She squeezed her eyes shut. What just happened? Everything that she had known had been a lie. Her parents…their relationship…her mother being on drugs…what was even real anymore? "You weren't on drugs?"

"No."

"You and Dad weren't married?"

"No."

"He knew where we were the whole time and he didn't want to try and get us?" Avalon lifted her head, teeth clenched tightly together. Her face was screwed up in a glare. "I don't fucking believe this!" She stood up, stomping her feet on the step. She stomped so hard that it cracked under her foot. Ellie glanced at the crack but remained silent.

"Is everything OK?" Kimberly's sweet voice came from behind them and Avalon turned to find her friends slowly making their way out of the front of the school, coming down the steps behind them.

Ellie stood up and turned to the rangers, holding her hand out towards Tommy. "I'm Eleanor Mitchell."

"I'm Tommy." He shook her hand firmly, giving her a smile. "And this Kimberly, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Jason." Each one smiled and waved as their names were called. Tommy hesitated before motioning over to Avalon. "We're Avalon's and Bailey's friends. It's nice to meet you Mrs. Mitchell."

"Ellie is fine," she corrected him, holding up her hands. She turned back to Avalon. "I was just…explaining some things to Avalon and understandably she didn't take it well." She then turned back to Billy. "I understand that my daughters have been living with you for a while now."

"That's right," Billy agreed.

"Thank you, to you and your parents for taking my girls in," Ellie said sincerely. "I know things haven't been easy for them but the hospitality and everything that you've shown them is all they or I could have asked for."

Billy nodded.

"So you know about everything?" Zack pressed. His eyes shifted to Avalon, who brought a hand up to scratched her forehead, using it as a cover for the scowl that appeared on her face.

"Yeah," Avalon said. "She knows about The Vipers and everything. She knows what Bailey and I have been through." She brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face, and then twisted her mouth to the side. "But, Mum, if you and Dad weren't married…what was wrong with your relationship that made things break up so badly?"

Ellie gave Avalon a sad smile. She turned away for a moment, covering her mouth with a hand and cleared her throat before looking directly at her daughter. Avalon raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response. "Ava… your father and I weren't married…but he had been before." Avalon's eyebrows slammed together. "In fact, I didn't know he had been. I thought he was single. I had been…sleeping with him while he was still married and had you. Not long after you were born, your father's wife died."

Avalon's eyebrows wrinkled her forehead now, giving her a headache.

"He has a son and a daughter from that wife. You have a brother and a sister. Their names are Ryan and Dana. Ryan is a little older than you and Dana is around your age." Ellie shook her head. "I didn't know until after Bailey was born. Then it all made sense. His constant trips, times where he would suddenly get off the phone. He was with her."

"That's not true," Avalon murmured. "You're lying!"

"I'm not," Ellie said firmly. "She was sick with cancer, he knew she didn't have much longer to live and he was depressed, knowing she wasn't going to be around and with his workload and the hospital visits and that's around the time I met him…" She trailed off. "I thought you needed to know," Ellie murmured.

Trini looked at Billy and spoke before the blue ranger could stop her. "Avalon it's true." All eyes turned to her.

Billy licked his lips. "You had told me his name once, and I decided to look it up, to see what else he had been working on along with the powers you now have." He cleared his throat as he looked at his best friend. Her face had gone from extreme anger to extreme hurt. A second later it was gone, replaced with an apathetic mask. "And…when I was doing that, I found out that he had another family. Dana and Ryan are your half brother and sister. It's true."

Kimberly covered her mouth with her hand.

Avalon held up a hand, pinched the bridge of her nose then lowered her shaking hand. "You both knew and you didn't tell me?" Their guilty expressions gave her the answer she needed. "I don't fucking believe this!" She walked up a step and shoved Billy hard on the shoulder. Jason quickly moved down to her side and took her arm, pulling her a few steps away. He kept his hand on her arm. "I live in _your_ house, helped you get with _her_ ,"—she gestured to Trini—"willingly submitted myself to science experiments so you could try and figure out what was going on with my extra powers, was a _friend_ to you, and after all of that you decided to keep this a secret? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!"

"We're sorry, Avalon," Trini apologized, pleading. "We just didn't think it was right for you to know—"

" _I'm not talking to you_!" Avalon spat at the yellow ranger before turning her gaze back to the blue ranger. "How long have you known?"

Billy opened and closed his mouth for a few moments then lowered his gaze. "A while," he admitted.

Avalon pursed her lips and glanced at Jason before looking at Kimberly, Tommy, and Zack, whose faces held different levels of shock. "I'm guessing by the stupid looks on your faces that you lot didn't know either?" She didn't let them respond before turning back to her mother.

"We didn't mean to keep it from you, Ava," Billy continued. She winced, hearing the nickname come from his mouth. "We just—"

Avalon gave him the finger, turning away from him. She walked over to her mother, looking up at her. As Ellie looked back, she could see a scared, broken little girl that was on the edge of bursting out into tears, confused and just wanting comfort from her mother. Ellie reached up and cupped Avalon's cheek.

"I know this is a lot for you to work through—"

"For _her_ to work through?" Zack broke in. "I'm so confused!"

Jason elbowed Zack in the side. The rangers then looked around as the communicator went off. Jason slapped his hand down on top of his own communicator and started to back away up the steps. "Excuse us Mrs…uh, Ellie, but we have something we need to take care of." He pointed over his shoulder. "Class is going to start and we can't be late."

Ellie nodded.

Trini hesitated before taking Billy's arm and the rangers went up the stairs after Jason. Avalon looked at her mother for a long moment before the corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile. "You know about me being a ranger too, don't you?"

"I knew that your father had done something to you with it…I figured it was only a matter of time and when I heard that you were in Angel Grove and that there were Power Rangers saving everyone…" Ellie trailed off with a shrug. "Just…be careful, OK?"

"OK."

Avalon turned on her heel and ran up the stairs, slipping back into the foyer of the high school where her friends were gathered, looking around to be sure no one was listening. Trini tried to her but Avalon held an open palm up in the yellow ranger's face, cutting her off.

Tommy lifted his communicator to his mouth. "What's going on, Zordon?"

"Gemma, Nie, and the putties are attacking at the beach. It'd be best if they were taken care of before Goldar shows up."

"We're on our way."It's morphin' time! Tiger Zord!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

A janitor, hearing the commotion, raced to the foyer to see what the commotion was. But by the time he arrived, the rangers were already gone.


	10. No Apologies

**Chapter 10**

_No Apologies_

* * *

 

"Kiya!"

"Hiya!"

"Ha!"

The power rangers flew out of the sky, striking putties and making quick work of them. Once they were all defeated, they turned their attention to Gemma and Nie, who had been watching the exchange. Gemma let out a light laugh, the pink toned monster tapping her fingers over her arm. She turned her head to look at her brother, his eyes still on the rangers.

"It's a pity they think they can beat us," she said.

"But we might as well have some fun with this," Nie agreed. The twins looked at each other and their hands started to glow green before they leapt into the air and landed by the rangers. Nie ducked under a spinning kick Tommy sent his way and slammed a glowing fist into his chest, sending him back against the ground. Kimberly jumped over Tommy and moved to attacked Nie as well but received a blow to the side of the head.

Billy, Zack, and Trini all tried to attack Gemma one on one, but ended up being defeated just as easily as Tommy and Kimberly had been. Avalon managed to kick Gemma in the face, causing her to stumble back with a scream then launch a green bolt of energy into the orange ranger's stomach, knocking her to the ground.

"Power Sword!" Jason summoned his weapon and leaped towards Nie, slashing the sword through the air. Nie leaned out of the way and used his free arm to knock the sword back out of the way, and drove a fist into Jason's stomach. Thankfully, Jason started to lean out of the way when he saw Nie's hand start to come back over, and only received a fraction of the blow. However, the shockwave lifted him off his feet and onto his back on the ground.

"This is too easy," Gemma cackled, sending out another wave of green energy.

Tommy shielded his face with his arms then clambered to his feet. "We're not going to give up that easily." He stood up and started to twirl Saba around his hands. "Saba!" He threw him forward and Saba whipped around the two monsters before coming to a halt, red beams of light coming from his eyes. It entrapped Gemma and Nie in the beam.

"Do you think this is going to work, Tommy?" Kimberly asked gripping his arm.

"Yeah, I don't know man," Zack agreed as the rangers flanked Tommy's sides. "Saba is powerful and everything, but these guys have Rita's magic with them." He brought a hand up and knocked on Tommy's helmet. "Do you remember when we tried to fight them last time? One of our zords got shrunk and they feed off each other's power."

"Then we have to be sure to split them up," Jason said, lifting his sword once more. He kept his eyes on the two monsters as they slowly started to move through the paralyzing field Saba had over them. "Make sure they can't use each other's energy, keep them far enough away."

"I don't know," Billy hesitated. "These monsters are stronger than we think and we haven't fought the two of them together in a while." He shook his head. "Rita must have something up her sleeve if she sent both of them down together."

Avalon snorted, rolling her eyes inside her helmet. She held out her hand and summoned her Power Staff, holding a tight grip on it. "Seriously, all you do is talk and analyze things to death! I'm tired of these guys and we're going to get rid of them once and for all!" Without waiting for Tommy's signal to attack, she jumped high into the air and brought her Power Staff down onto the side of Nie's head, the force of the blow knocking him out of Saba's force field.

"Dammit, Avalon!" Tommy swore as his sword flew back to him.

"We can't wait," Trini protested, charging towards Gemma. "Power Daggers!" Her power weapons appeared in her hands and she got close to Gemma, who suddenly moved out of Saba's field. She ducked under a swing of an arm that Gemma sent her way and slashed across the pink monster's front with her weapons. She then jumped backwards, flipping out of the way and giving a scissor kick, hitting her in the front once more.

"Power Lance!" Billy appeared at Trini's side, shoving his lance into the ground and using it as leverage to hoist himself into the air. Gemma, who had been preoccupied with Trini, looked up in surprise seconds before Billy's foot landed on her face, knocking her to her back.

"How dare you!?" Gemma shrieked, her hands moving to cover her face. She removed her hands and shot the up, blasting green energy into Billy and Trini. She laughed evilly as the blast coursed through their veins, rendering the paralyzed. The blue and yellow rangers fell to the ground, quaking as they tried to force themselves through her energy blast.

On the other side of the field, Jason, Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, and Avalon were all trying to attack Nie, but he moved faster than any of them anticipated. Jason grabbed his chest as he was kicked, knocking him flat to the ground. He sat up in time to watch as the white, pink, back, and orange rangers were all hit by his blats of energy. Jason's eyes moved over to Gemma and saw she was doing the same thing, a malicious grin on her face as she continued to hold the two shaking rangers. Then his eyes moved back over to Nie, who held the rest of his friends.

 _So that's how they're doing it,_ he realized. _Every move they make is the same as to what the other is doing. When she does an attack up high, Nie does an attack up high. Then when she does an attack that's low, he does the same thing. It's like they're synchronized…like twins._ Jason got to his knees, holding onto his Power Sword tightly with both hands, trying to figure out what to do. "Splitting them apart isn't going to do anything…maybe attacking them at the same time…?" _That's it!_ Jason, feeling a renewed sense of energy, got to his feet and charged towards Gemma and Nie. He jumped up in the air and with a cry of effort; he slashed his sword sideways, catching both Gemma and Nie across the shoulders. The blows knocked the pink and blue monsters off balance, breaking their attack on the other rangers.

"Man!" Zack slapped the ground with an open palm. "We're never going to beat these guys."

"Wanna bet?" Avalon started to stand up, but Kimberly grabbed onto her. "Let go, Kim!"

"You can't keep running off on your own like that," Kimberly protested. "You're putting the rest of us in danger when you do that. We work as a team or nothing at all. That's the only way we're going to be able to beat these guys."

Avalon laughed obnoxiously loud. "I think at this point it's been proven that we're not a team." She sneered.

"Enough!" Jason snapped, causing the rangers to fall silent. He didn't look at them, choosing rather to keep his gaze on Gem and Nie once again. The two monsters stood next to each other, their fingertips twitching as they snarled at the rangers. "I was thinking about what Billy said, how they feed off each other's energy. When we tried fighting them separately, they were just mirroring what the other was doing." He tightened his grip. "What we need to do—"

"Is fight them at once," Billy broke in. "Thus eradicating the ability for them to sense what the other is thinking." He snapped his fingers. "That's it! They're using each other's sense of psychic abilities to see what move we make next. It's like they can see from each other's eyes."

"Then we just need to blind them," Zack said with an even grin.

"Exactly," Billy agreed.

"Finally, something I can do." Avalon put down her Power Staff and rubbed her gloved hands together. Her hands then started to glow orange and it encased her fingers up to her arms before sending stream of fire towards the monsters. She continued to stream fire at them until there was smoke thick enough they couldn't see through. Gemma's and Nie's coughing could be heard over the smoke.

Trini then clenched her hands into fists as they started to flow yellow. She raised them high over her head and dark storm clouds gathered in the sky above them. She opened her fists then closed them once more, bringing her arms down, causing a large lightning bolt to come from the sky. It shot down and struck the center of the wall of fire where the monsters were standing. The rangers watched as they screamed in pain and were thrown to the ground.

"Aqua Strike!" Billy formed a large ball of water and shot it towards the monsters, striking them as well as dousing out the flames that threatened to spread.

"Don't think you've got us beat, power brats," Gemma snarled, her eyes flashing. Hers and Nie's hands continued to glow green. "There's plenty more where that came from."

Kimberly reacted before they could, creating a large gust of wind with bolts of energy inside, striking both of the monsters.

"Alright guys, let's bring them together!" Jason declared.

"Power Axe!" Zack tossed his weapon into the air, making the bulk of the combined weapon.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly threw hers to add onto Zack's weapon, giving the blaster wings.

"Power Daggers!" Trini spun her weapons around her fingers before throwing it up to add onto the weapon.

"Power Lance!" Billy pulled his lance apart and threw it up onto the weapon as well.

"Power Sword!" Jason jumped up high into the air and brought his sword down on top of the weapon, making the power blaster complete. "Let's do it guys." He held onto the power blaster and Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy all crowded around him to help him hold onto the weapon. "Ready?"

"You got it, guys." Tommy encouraged.

"Fire!" the five of them cried in unison and the blaster show out its energy.

"Fire Blast!" Avalon shot a stream of fire into the energy blast of the Power Cannon. The two fights combined and formed and even greater beam of energy, rocketing right into the faces of Gemma and Nie. They screamed in pain, writing around as they started to glow green, the bright light glowing brighter and bright as the seconds passed. The rangers watched as the light continued to increase in luminosity, bolts of electricity flying off their bodies as well.

Finally, the screams ceased and an explosion blasted up into the air. The shockwave sent the rangers flying off their feet, making them dimorph. They looked at each other as they got to their feet, staring at the crater that had been left by the monsters. Jason wiped some soot off his face, sitting back on his heels. He gaped at the crater and smoke as it wafted away then let out a light laugh.

"They're gone," Zack said. "We did it! We finally did it!"

"Don't get your hopes up too high, Twinkle-Toes," Avalon reminded him. "We still have, like, ten of them to go." She stood up, brushing off her clothes. "We just got lucky this time."

"Yeah, lucky we didn't get destroyed," Jason broke in. He turned his head to look at her. "I know you're upset about what happened at school today, but the last thing we need for our team to fall apart because of it."

Avalon raised a condescending eyebrow and for a long moment, she was silent. Then her face became an empty mask and she crossed her arms over her chest. "The only team I see here is you guys," she said, motioning to the other rangers. "You never keep secrets from each other and I'm sure that you wouldn't ever think about betraying each other either."

"We didn't betray you!" Trini protested.

"And you didn't do me any favors by keeping me in the dark either," Avalon continued. Her mask then cracked and the rangers could see the hurt the orange ranger was trying so hard to hide. "You all keep saying we're friends and everything and I used to think that my feeling I didn't really belong was my fault and now I realize it's not." She shook her head. "I was never really your friend in the first place so why keep acting like it?"

"Av," Kimberly protested. "C'mon, you know you're our friend."

"Please," Billy added. He waved a hand. "Don't punish the rest of them because of a decision I made. I just thought it was a good one at the time and—"

"And nothing," Zack interrupted. He held up his hands, looking back and forth between the two rangers. "I know there's this big crisis going on that, frankly, I'm interested in too. But I think right now would be a good idea if we debriefed with Alpha and Zordon and figure out why these monsters were so easy to beat this time."

"Zack's right," Tommy agreed, hair disheveled around his dirt streaked face. "And the news vans will be here soon, we can't let them find us." His eyes widened slightly as he shook his head. "That'll be something else we don't need."

"You lot do what you want," Avalon said. "I'm out." She brought her hands together and teleported away in a blast of orange light.

She arrived back at the Cranston house, finding it empty. _Duh, Avalon, you just left school._ She frowned, immediately thinking about her mother and how she had left her on the front steps of Angel Grove High. Where was she right now? Looking for a place to stay? Wandering around the city? Waiting for her to get back to the school? _She knows I'm a ranger; at this point the news is broadcasting how we saved the day._ Avalon continued to stand on the front step of the Cranston house, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she made up her mind and teleported back to the middle school. Heading inside, she went straight to the receptionist's desk.

"My name is Avalon Mitchell, I'm here to pick up my sister Bailey for a doctor's appointment," Avalon mumbled, keeping her eyes down. "She's going to be out for the rest of the day."

"Of course," The receptionist replied with a sincere smile. She picked up a clipboard and pushed it over the desk to the orange ranger. "Just fill out this form and I'll send someone back to get her." She picked up her phone and called back to a classroom while Avalon filled out the form.

Her eyes moved over the list of things required to take her sister out of the school: Name, Reason for leaving, signature, emergency contact number. Something that every parent had to do when they picked up their kid, she could see the signatures of all of the other parents then put hers on the form as well. Her handwriting looked very juvenile compared to the others. It was a bit unsettling. Avalon pushed the clipboard back over the counter and shoved her hands into her pockets, looking over the walls filled with drawings, paintings, and projects filled the walls. Things that parents would have put up on the refrigerator when they got an 'A'.

That was what she had always wanted. She wanted to be able to go home with an A on a paper and have it be stuck to the metal front of the refrigerator with a colorful looking magnet. Maybe one of the letters that would spell out her name. However, every time she would arrive home from school she would find another babysitter, most of the time it was Miss. Angela, who she really enjoyed, but not her father. Whenever she would try to show him what grade she got on her homework, he would shoo her off and go back to working with whatever project would keep him behind closed doors.

"Av?" Avalon turned around to find Bailey walking over to her, a jacket draped over her arms, backpack hanging from one hand. "What's going on? Why did you need to take me out of school? Is everything OK?"

"Relax, booger, everything's…fine," Avalon replied. She reached out and took Bailey's backpack, slinging it over her own shoulder. Holding the door to the school open, she let her sister leave the building first before following her. "Now that we got rid of Gemma and Nie."

"I thought I heard my communicator going off," Bailey said. She punched herself in the thigh. "I wasn't sure because we were in music class and I—"she broke off, tilting her head back towards the sky. "Ugh! I knew I should have checked things out. Is everyone alright? Did the helmets hold up?"

"Hang on a tick, Bay, there's something more serious I need to tell you," Avalon said. He turned to Bailey and gave her a meaningful glance. "And this is _really_ serious."

Bailey frowned, looking up at her big sister. "Did someone get hurt?"

 _Yes,_ Avalon thought bitterly. She pressed her mouth together, letting out a slow breath through her nose. How was she going to explain this to her sister? It shouldn't be that hard, Bailey was part of Mensa, she could probably find some way to prove that 2 plus 2 equaled a number other than 4 the same way she would breaks the news about their mother being back.

Bailey grabbed her sister's arm and held her still. "What happened, Av?"

Avalon looked up and found they had arrived back at Angel Grove high. She looked at the front steps and saw Ellie was still sitting at the top of the stairs, her arms around her knees. Avalon's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Why was she still there? "Um." Avalon turned back to her sister then leaned forward, gripping her shoulders. "You know I love you, right?"

"Right," Bailey said slowly. "I love you, too, Av."

"And that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you?"

"You've proven that before."

"Right." Avalon licked her lips. "And you know how I never wanted to talk about Mum and Dad?" Bailey nodded again. Avalon took a breath then turned and motioned to the steps of the school. "Well, now it seems like I don't really have a choice. There's Mum."

Bailey's entire face screwed up in confusion and she gazed at Avalon for a long moment before leaning to the side and followed Avalon's gaze. Her eyes widened then she looked at Avalon once more before she started to run. Ellie, noticing her youngest daughter heading towards her, got to her feet and headed down the rest of the steps of the school. Avalon slowly walked along behind them.

"Mummy!" Bailey opened her arms and flung them around her mother's waist when she reached them.

"Oh, Abigail," Ellie replied, holding onto her daughter and holding her tightly. At Avalon's eyebrows raise, she corrected herself. "Sorry, I know you like to go by Bailey now." She smoothed Baileys' dark hair off her forehead before turning to Avalon. "Apart from the soot, I'm glad to see you're OK." She reached out a hand to smudge some of the dark spots from the orange ranger's face and she backed away from her outstretched hand.

"Monster battles can do that to you sometimes," Avalon murmured.

"Av!" Bailey gasped.

"Relax, Bay, she knows I'm a power ranger," Avalon said dismissively.

"She does?" Bailey turned back to her mother, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Her dark eyes were searching her mother's wondering what else she could have known. Avalon was suddenly jealous of her little sister, who wouldn't be as affected by what was to be revealed to her as Avalon had been.

"I do," Ellie agreed. She hugged Bailey once more then lifted her head to find Avalon continuing to stare at her. "Oh, well, I should be getting back to the hotel. I need to check in."

"You can come to our house, Mum," Bailey protested. She shrugged. "Well, it's not really our house; we're staying with our friend Billy."

 _She must be too excited to notice the tension,_ Avalon thought. She could feel her mother's eye son her. The last thing she needed was for her to get on her case about being with The Vipers as well. The less she knew the better, she supposed. Avalon reached up a hand and scratched the back of her head, briefly closing her eyes. "I have something I need to take care of," she said, pointing behind her. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She turned to Bailey and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go with her to the hotel?"

"Ok," Bailey said slowly. "Av, are you sure you're Ok?"

 _Other than wondering if Mum is going to go to jail for neglect, wondering what the Cranstons and the rest of those guys' parents are going to say when they find out, what Mum will say about The Vipers, and what it means for my community service and my meetings with my probation officer, I'm fine,_ Avalon thought. She resisted the urge to curl her upper lip. "I'm fine." She ruffled Bailey's hair. "Don't give her any trouble, Goober."

"I won't, Booger," Bailey replied sticking her tongue out. "That's your specialty."

Avalon laughed and dropped her hand from her sister's hair. She straightened and looked at her other once more. Ellie had been watching them with an air of sadness around her. _If anyone deserves to be sad, it's me._ "I'll see you later." She lifted a hand and turned on her heel, starting down the street. She glanced over her shoulder to find her sister and mother walking away as well, Bailey talking a mile a minute. _Perfect._ Avalon, using her enhanced speed, arrived at the auto shop in a matter of moments.

The Angel Grove auto shop was like any other place cars were taken to. However there was a better chance a customer wouldn't be ripped off at this shop. Grease stains filled the floor but it otherwise looked clean. As Avalon stepped inside, she could see a few trucks suspended towards the ceiling with a few mechanics walking underneath them. When Avalon passed them they hardly looked at her as she passed. No wonder Chase wanted to work there, no one questioned who she was or what she wanted and it was close enough for him to see what she was doing while at school.

It would have been funny if it wasn't so creepy.

"Is Chase here?" She asked the lead mechanic.

He looked at her for, toweling his hands off with grease stained dishtowel. The man continued to look her up and down for a long moment before standing up from the open hood he had been kneeling by. Reaching out a hand, he placed it on top of the hood and slammed it shut, flipping the towel up onto his shoulder. "Yeah," he finally replied. "He's here. I'll get him for you."

Avalon nodded and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for him to come back. She turned at the sound of footsteps scraping over the garage floor and watched as Chase appeared around the side of a doorway.

Chase looked at her a long moment, leaning against the doorway to the room. He reached up, scratching his bare chest. "Trouble in paradise?" He taunted in a low drawl. "Did your friends get tired of you already?"

Avalon gritted her teeth, turning her head away from him. It was also so annoying how he was still able to see right through her. "Don't get me started, Chase, I'm not in the mood," Avalon replied under her breath. She placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head.

Chase dropped his hand then pushed himself upright. "Then what are you doing here?" His eyes burned into hers. "I don't need you for anything yet."

"Yet is the keyword, mate," Avalon said simply, her eyes still on his.

Chase's cheek twitched before he started to smile. His lips were the only indicator that he was, indeed, smiling. His eyes hadn't changed; there was no light in his eyes, nothing that appeared to make him happy. They were just dead.

"Fine." Chase tilted his head back behind him. "There's an office back there, just wait for me. I finish my shift soon."

"No worries."

…

..

.

When Avalon arrived back at the Cranston's house, she opened the door and rolled her eyes, finding Billy sitting on the bottom step. He stood up as she closed the door behind her, being careful to keep the wad of bills out of sight in her back pocket.

"Ava, please, can we talk?" Billy asked, following her as she headed into the kitchen.

"There's nothing to talk about," Avalon replied shortly. "And _please_ don't call me that!"

"If you would just let me explain why I believed that the restriction of information about your parents was something that was needed—"

"And would you speak English for once?" Avalon turned on her heel and glared at the blue ranger. He took a step back, looking down at her. "Seriously, I don't care _why_ you did it, Billy. You did it." He winced at the use of his name. It felt a little foreign on her tongue; she had become so used to calling him 'Smurf' at the time. She brought a shaking hand up to her head then viciously brought it back down to her side. Clenching her jaw, a vein in her forehead started to throb. "That's not even the worst part about it, honestly. What sucks is that I've been…so honest with you about a lot of things. I told you everything when I was in the hospital, I told you…" her voice lowered to a whisper. "How scared I felt, knowing I had put Bailey into a situation like this…being a ranger and everything I had already done."

"I know," Billy agreed. "I know. But I didn't want to hurt you any further," he said. "I didn't want you think that about your father, not when we didn't know the whole story." He lowered his voice. "I didn't want you to think you were alone."

Avalon regarded him coolly. "Too late for that, mate."

* * *

 

"C'mon Zack, get up! Today's the big day!"

Zack rolled onto his other side and yanked his blankets up over his head. He settled back down into his pillows once he was settled. He let out a sigh and tried to recover his breathing pattern. As soon as he fell asleep again he could get right back to dreaming about Angela. About the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she smelled when she leaned in to—

"Zack!" Zack groaned and pulled the blankets tighter over his head. He could feel the blankets being tugged off him and he tried his hardest to pull them back up. Seconds later he felt a blast of cold air and immediately curled up into a ball. "Zachary Taylor, you're going to be late for the big game today."

Zack groaned, creaking open an eye. "What big game?" He croaked.

"Your first football game, of course," Mr. Taylor replied, coming around the other side of the bed. He leaned down into his son's face. "Remember? It's Saturday. The first day of the football season." Mr. Taylor grabbed Zack's arms and pulled him up into a sitting position. "You have to get a good breakfast before you play, you need the energy. Your mother is making it now."

"Cool." Zack curled up into a ball once more. "Wake me up once it's done."

"No, no!" Mr. Taylor grabbed Zack's arm and helped him to his feet. "You have to get ready now. Be sure you have your cleats, and jerseys and shoes." He then thumped Zack hard on the shoulder. "Make sure you got your athletic cup too."

"Dad!" Zack groaned again. He brought his hands up to his face and ran it over his face, sitting back down on the edge of the bed.

"Ok, ok. I'll go make sure breakfast is ready and you just get your things together," Mr. Taylor said.

Zack nodded, but didn't reply. Once he heard the door close behind him, he let out a long breath. How could he have forgotten that it was the first game of the season that day? He and the other boys had been practicing as much as they could around their monster fights. As a matter of fact, he had forgotten _because_ of the monster fights. Taking on high school guys around his weight was nothing compared to the fear of being squished by the sweaty foot of whatever monster Rita and Zedd had cooked up that time. He had forgotten how much he hadn't wanted to play football land only agreed to it so that his father would be proud of him.

 _He's proud all right,_ Zack thought. _Him and Uncle Zeke and Uncle DJ._ He had seen all of their pictures since he was a kid. They had all played football. No dancers in there. It was a wonder Zack had managed to lat that long before being forced into it in some way. It seemed to be some sort of a family tradition and Zack was the odd man out, preferring to move to the music rather than run down a field, trying not to be tackled by guys that wanted nothing but to pulverize him.

On auto-pilot, Zack gathered his jersey and pulled it on over a pair of jeans. He would change into the rest of his uniform when he got to the school later that day. Not that it made a difference. None of the boys were that excited to play. Tommy, being the leader of the team was frustrated, not sure how to fix the fallout Billy, Trini, and Avalon had. Billy was sulking; he was never one that was sure how to work through his emotions as easily as it was to move through math and science. Jason was the only one that seemed ready for this game; he had so much more energy lately than he had before. If Zack didn't know better, he would say Jason enjoyed the idea of the game more than martial arts.

And that was saying something.

Zack gathered his things and went down to the breakfast table. He finished the eggs, toast, and cereal that was put out for him and got into the car. On the ride to school, he tuned out his parents talking about the game that day, reminiscing when they were in high school and attending the games as well; his father a player and his mother a cheerleader. When he arrived at school he immediately went to the locker room where he found his friends putting on their pads and uniform.

"Hey," he greeted them.

"Hey." The response was muted; Jason was the only one who was amped up, bouncing back and forth on his toes, throwing punches every now and then. Zack regarded him with a strange look and glanced at Tommy, who made the cuckoo sign by the side of his head. Zack then turned to Billy, who was sitting on a bench, slowly pulling on his shoulder pads.

"Hey, c'mon B-Man, things are going to get better soon," Zack said, patting him on the shoulder. "Just give her some time. She'll come around." He sat down on the bench in front of Billy, who looked up at him. "Remember the time I accidentally spilled Kim's perfume? She said she wouldn't talk to me again and now we're as close as ever."

"That's because she's still waiting for you to buy her another bottle of perfume," Jason pointed out.

"She can wait 'till Christmas," Zack said. He waved his hand, and then turned back to Billy who had only managed a half smile. "Don't worry, man. She'll come around." He clapped Billy on the shoulder then stood up to finish getting ready. He had closed his locker door when the coach came into the locker room and ushered them out onto the field. With his helmet in one hand, he jogged out onto the field with the rest of his teammates.

Once they reached their bench he put the helmet down and picked up a cup to get some water. He wasn't going to be playing until the second half and with how hot it got in Angel Grove, becoming dehydrated wouldn't help anyone. Zack turned and scanned the bleachers.

Movement caught his eye and he watched as Avalon, who had been sitting at the top of the bleachers, staring intently at the field came down the steps and stepped down onto the grass, disappearing from sight amongst the crowd.

Zack looked further up at the bleachers. He could see his father and mother sitting in the stands a few rows behind his friends. Kimberly and Trini were holding onto flags and were cheering loudly when saw him. Once he caught his father's gaze, Mr. Taylor grinned and gave him a thumb's up. His eyes then moved down to where the cheerleaders were waving their pom-poms and cheering for the team.

Angela smiled and waved at him.

Zack sighed and turned back to the field.

Not even the image of Angela in a cheerleading uniform was going to change his mood.


	11. Happy Birthday, Bailey

**Chapter 11**

_Happy Birthday, Bailey_

* * *

 

Avalon flipped her dark hair out of her face and looked at her watch. _They should have been here by now, how much longer was going to have to wait?_ Beside her, Skye shifted his feet. Though his face was resting in a look of concentration, she could see the irritation that flicked at her movement to look at her watch. Chase and Summer, on the other hand, were standing a few paces away from the them, calm cool and collected. They also noticed Avalon's impatient glance at her watch.

"Getting a little impatient are we?" Summer's low drawl caused her to turn to the only other female member of the Vipers. She had her arms wrapped around Chase's arm, then let go so that she could face Avalon fully. "Are we keeping you from something important?"

Avalon recognized the mischievous flash in Summer's eyes. She had seen it a lot more recently, since she had threatened Summer not to mess with her. Ever since then, Summer had been doing her best to try and work her way under Avalon's skin, that is, if she wasn't too busy entertaining Chase in every room of the warehouse as loud as she could possibly be. Even Skye, who normally didn't care what went on along as he was treated fairly, had started to become annoyed. More often than not if there was some sort of task that needed to be done he was the first to volunteer to get away.

Even that night he had been the first to say he would go on their drug run. Avalon, having the pound of cocaine on her, thankfully having taken it from the Cranston house before anyone could find it—which had caused her many sleepless nights. Chase then said that all of them would be going and he wasn't going to have anyone question him about it.

Of course they wouldn't, not to his face. That would be suicide. Instead, they waited for him to get out of earshot before the remaining three started to ask about it. This was never his mode of operation; he preferred to stay behind the scenes unless he absolutely had to go out on the front lines.

Avalon pressed her lips firmly together as she continued to study Summer's smirking expression. She had never been annoyed of the girl more than she was at that moment. It was strange too, they used to be really good friends up until recently. Avalon had even felt that Summer was close to being a sister to her when she had first joined the Vipers. Now, with her lingering sense of betrayal as well as Chase's constant questioning of whether or not she was really loyal to them or not, the wedge between the two of them was constantly widening.

"I give them another five minutes before we ditch it," Avalon finally said.

"Figures." Summer scoffed, turning away from the orange ranger. "As soon as things get tough, you want to run away."

"Actually, I was thinking about the police," Avalon contradicted. She looked away from Summer and at Chase, who was watching the two, arms crossed over his chest. "They patrol this street more than the others, because they know about the drug runs here. It's only a matter of time the lot comes this way, yeah?"

Skye snorted, breaking in before Chase could respond. "What do you think is going to happen if we bail?" He hunched forward, using his shoulders to block the slight breeze that swirled around them. "Not that it matters much; we already have our ways of keeping things straight with the High-Flyers. Don't go into their territory. I wasn't aware that we started to deal with them too." He sneered. "I mean, after agreeing to work with them."

"Shut the fuck up!" Chase snapped. He pushed Summer away from him and walked back a few steps, addressing the three of them. "All three of you! You're _really_ starting to work on my fucking nerves, whining and complaining about everything!" He held up a hand as Summer tried to protest. "I know you're questioning my decision to team up with the High Flyers, but it was _my_ decision and you all have to trust me." He lowered his hand. "Second, Pinky's right," he said, looking at Avalon. The orange ranger did her best not to smirk, but she couldn't help but notice the look of fury flash over Summer's face. "If we don't get out of here soon, the police will come by and this would have all been for nothing."

"Looks like you and your fuck buddy aren't getting along," Skye taunted her.

"Shut up!" Summer shot out her hand and punched him in the stomach.

"Besides," Chase continued ignoring the two Vipers. He was speaking directly to Avalon this time. "I wouldn't have made that agreement with Tim if I didn't think it was going to help us in the long run. With the police around, we need to be sure things are ok between our groups. Who knows if they have something that they're trying to do that we don't know about. It wouldn't be the first time."

Avalon nodded and looked away. She hadn't been able to be around him much lately. Because of his and Summer's 'relationship' going on around them, she couldn't help but think of the time she, herself, and Chase had been dating. He had really does his best to look out for her and while they were alone he actually showed his soft and vulnerable side. _Of course that was before gang life made him completely lose control,_ Avalon thought. He had become so…cracked, so easily she was sure he was only one incident away from a complete mental breakdown where he would slaughter anyone in his path.

He had been close many times.

Dropping her arms, the orange ranger's hand brushed against her power morpher. She tilted it up towards her face and looked over the Stegosaurus that looked back at her. Once it caught the early morning sunlight, it seemed to shine in an orange glow. Who would have thought that she, Avalon Mitchell, resident member of the Vipers would have gotten into something that was actually…good? And yet, when she had been fighting her first battle, she had an overwhelming sense it was something that she was _supposed_ to be doing.

Avalon shook her head. No, she told herself. _Don't think about them._ She was doing just fine without them, she and Bailey were just fine and they would continue to do fine without them as long as it took. It hadn't been that long since she had found out what the rangers had been keeping from her, and yet, she still couldn't bear to look at Billy or Trini. It was too hard. She avoided the other rangers the best she could, knowing that they were going to try and talk to her. It's all they wanted to do. She was fine with Tommy, Kim, Jason, and Zack, and seeing them around was fine. Things had become strained at home; Billy and Avalon weren't talking much, with Billy spending most of his time in the garage lab and Avalon spending time with Bailey.

They hadn't seen Ellie since that one day at school, but there had been a few phone calls back and forth. It was hard to know she was around for the time being, Avalon still wasn't sure if she could handle it much longer. Now, as it was before, her first and main priority was to her sister.

Truthfully, Avalon knew the real reason she didn't want to hear hat Billy and Trini had to say; it'd force her to open herself up more than she ever had before. It'd bring up everything all over again and she didn't want to dwell on it. Dwelling would just make those dark thoughts come up again, those thoughts that kept her up at night.

"Hey."

The Vipers turned to see two of the High-Flyers walking over to them, their bright purple letterman jackets standing out against the otherwise dark corner they were standing on. Avalon glanced at Chase, who nodded at her, bringing a hand to her back to clutch the pound of cocaine she had hidden under a jacket. She glanced around. No one was coming, that was good.

Chase nodded at the High-Flyers. "You guys got the stuff?"

"Do you?" The guy on the right said. His friend was continuously swiveling his head, keeping watch for them.

"He asked you first." Skye lowered his voice. His eyes narrowed and the first guy let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, we're all trying to get this done before the cops show, now hurry up and show us that you can be trusted and we won't have to deal with each other."

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" The guy snapped. His upper lip curled into a snarl. "We're the ones holding the power here!"

Summer stepped forward, batting her eyelashes and gazing at the High-Flyers with a sultry expression. "It'd be a big help if you did this." She placed her hand on the guy's shoulder, gently walking her finger up to his cheek, tickling it with her index finger. "You wouldn't want Tim to hear about it would you?

The guy on the left scowled. He looked over his shoulder once more and half-turned to the side, discreetly holding out his hand. Chase took a step forward and confidently slapped his hand into the High-Flyers. When he pulled it back, a couple dollar bills were resting in his palm. He then sniffed and made a show of rubbing his nose before showing his hands into his pockets.

Avalon moved forward and reached her hands up into her shirt, reaching under the strap of her bra and extracting the cocaine from her body. She winced as the tape that held it there pulled at her skin, ripping the bag free. Removing her hand from under her shirt, Avalon shoved the baggie into his chest.

"There's your part, mate."

"Hold on!" He held up his hand, regarding Avalon suspiciously. "We need to be sure that this is what it is."

"She gave you what you needed," Chase snapped. He made a show of moving his hand towards the pocket of his jeans. "You don't need to question it."

"Dude!" The second guy slapped the first one on the arm. "Dude! Dude!" All eyes turned to the guy that was heading their way. He would have seemed like a random passerby if it wasn't for the eyes trained on them, not blinking as he went. "Let's get out of here!"

Avalon turned back to the High-Flyer just as he pulled out a pistol. Bringing his arm up, he whipped her across the face, immediately knocking her to the ground. Avalon lay on the ground, stunned, as the High-Flyers turned and started to sprint down the sidewalk. She could hear the sound of the Vipers's footsteps run off ahead of her. Avalon got to her knees, bringing her hand to her cheek, suddenly enraged. Her vision turned red and she gritted her teeth, her face twisting into a grotesque glare.

"Don't just sit there!" Skye spat. He was grabbing onto her arm, pulling her to feet, half dragging her. "It's the cops. Run!"

Avalon allowed herself to get yanked to her feet and the two blasted off down the street in the opposite direction of the High-Flyers, racing behind Chase and Summer. Risking a glance over her shoulder, Avalon saw the undercover officer had stopped on the corner, not sure which way to go. His eyes shifted back and forth, hands twitching at his sides. Finally, he made his decision and started to chase after the Vipers. Avalon turned back to face the front, pumping her arms and legs as fast as she could go.

Skye quickly pulled ahead of her, his longer legs making him take up more ground but Avalon kept up with him the best she could, heart hammering against her chest, her lungs grasping for as much air as they could get. She would have used her enhanced speed if it weren't for Chase, Summer, and Skye being there as well. If she used it now, they would probably turn on her, selling her for whatever money they could get. Maybe even negotiate for protection against police. Behind her, Avalon could hear the officer closing in on her, practically breathing down her neck. Glancing over her shoulder once more, the orange ranger was distracted ad miscalculated her step, her foot catching over a loose stone on the sidewalk.

In her haste, she jerked her left foot back, hoping the momentum would carry her forward and she'd be able to catch herself. Instead, it knocked her off balance and she pitched towards the ground. Avalon let out a curse as she landed on her stomach, arms out stretched n front of her. The wind was knocked out of her in one blow. She barely managed to roll onto her side, before her arm was grabbed and she was hauled to her feet. Defeated, Avalon closed her eyes. There went everything she was working hard for, her probation would get reversed, she was more than likely to go to jail now, leaving Bailey alone with a woman they could barely call their mother.

All of a sudden there was a low popping sound and she felt the grasp on her shoulder release. Then she was flung over someone's shoulder and bobbed up and down as the person ran along with her. She was then thrown into the back of a Lincoln, barely able to sit up before the door were slammed shut.

"Drive! Drive!" Chase bellowed.

Skye, who was in the driver's seat, took off the parking brake and floored the gas pedal, racing away from the scene. Avalon sat up, digging her fingernails into the armrest beside her, suddenly having flashbacks of the time she had been driven around by Chase. Sitting up, Avalon let out a large breath of hair, the blow moving it off her forehead, noticing that she was soaked with sweat. She looked to the seat beside her, finding Chase in the seat, gasping for air. He caught her gaze.

"You owe me," he breathed.

"Story of my life," Avalon replied. She nodded at him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He then put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to his side in a hug. Avalon was startled for a moment; he was never one to openly show affection unless he was completely alone. He hadn't hugged her since they broke up. Something about the last time they were together, when he had alluded he wouldn't be around much longer, had changed. But she wasn't sure what. "We did it guys! We got a massive haul this time!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bills, making a show of throwing the in the air. "We need to celebrate."

"I'll start." Summer, on Chase's other side, reached out and grabbed the gang leader's cheeks in her hands before leaning in and giving him a kiss. Soon they were making out in the backseat, causing Avalon to lean out of the way of their bodies as they were rocked by the van taking sharp turns to get back to the warehouse.

"I'll pass," Skye called from the front seat. "I don't want to get syphilis or whatever she's carrying now."

"That's because she got to you first," Avalon replied, crawling into the front seat. She pulled down the sun shield that rested over her head and opened it to look at her reflection. As she angled the mirror down to face her she caught sight of Chase's and Summer's reflection. Chase had his eyes open and was looking at the orange ranger while he continued to kiss Summer. Avalon lowered it even further to look at her own reflection, smoothing out her hair, and then flapped it back up. "Give me a fifty and drop me off at the corner of Birch and Maple," she instructed.

"Why?" Nevertheless, Skye did as he was told.

"Because I have a birthday I need to celebrate."

* * *

 

Fred walked into the Angel Grove Middle School gym alongside his father, who was carefully carrying a large poster board that held all of the information of their science project. He walked around his father a couple of times, holding his hands out as he did so. "Be careful, Dad. This is the winning project and we need to be sure the judges have all of the information we need."

"Don't worry, Fred," Mr. Kelman reassured him, twisting his body to the side so that he could see his son. "I know how important this is to you. I'm not going to mess anything up." He moved the poster board to his other hand, then glanced at his watch. "I'm sorry I can't stay long, I have to get back to the construction site. But I should be here for the judging."

"Its fine Dad," Fred replied. He wasn't paying attention to his father anymore. Now he was standing on his tiptoes, looking around the large crowds of their classmates and their parents. He frowned, turning this way and that, before finding Bailey at a table near the back, placing their project on the table. She stood back and looked over the instruments before adjusting them, glancing up at her sister who smiled and gave a nod of approval. "Oh, Dad! Over there!" He took off running before his father could catch him.

"Hey Avalon," Fred greeted as he reached the Mitchell sisters' side. Avalon smiled and nodded at him. "Hey Bailey," he said t his friend. "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks." Bailey beamed, pushing her glasses up her nose. "And what a way to celebrate it, yeah? I get cake and presents _and_ win the science fair!"

Fred loosely shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah, I don't think anyone else has a project that's as good as ours." He moved over to Bailey's side and started to point around to the various projects that lined the room. "I mean, a paper mache volcano, magnets, the solar system." He paused, looking at an impressive display. "Casey's project on water erosion might be difficult to beat, but I think we can do it."

"A little confident are we?" Bailey placed her hand on Fred's shoulder. "You wouldn't have done anything to tamper with the others would you?"

"Me?" Fred moved his hands to his chest; dig his beat to appear innocent. He went as far as to widen his eyes before making an expression of dismay. "I would never do that."

"Keep letting her think that," Avalon suggested. She swiped her fringe out of her face, having styled it so that her hair was back in a ponytail, her fringe covering half of her face. "She likes to know that things are fair before she beats someone."

"At least I'm not a sore loser," Bailey shot back.

Avalon bobbed her head back and forth. "She's right," she agreed, causing Fred to laugh. Avalon then leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her sister's shoulders. "And because today's her birthday I'm going to let it slide." She gave Bailey a kiss on the side of the head, causing her to squirm.

Fred laughed again, taking off his baseball cap and folding the brim, stuffing it down into the back pocket of his jeans. He felt a presence behind him and turned back around find his father had finally caught up to him. Fred took the poster from him and placed it on the table, opening up the few flaps behind their project. He turned back around to find his father looking at him and angling his head over towards the Mitchell sisters, who were scouting out the other projects.

"Oh." Fred cleared his throat and tapped Bailey on the shoulder. "Bay, this is my Dad. Dad, this is my friend Bailey, and her sister, Avalon."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," Bailey said, reaching out her hand and firmly shaking Mr. Kelman's.

"It's nice to meet you too," Mr. Kelman replied. "Finally. Fred's told me so much about you." He flashed a smile; Fred could the sneak glint in his eye slowly start to form and his own eyes widened in fear. He could feel his face turning red. Mr. Kelman turned back to Bailey, replacing the look with a charming smile. "A lot of good things."

"I don't doubt it," Avalon remarked. She seemed to have the same idea that Mr. Kelman had, for Bailey turned and grabbed onto her sister's arms, holding on tightly. Her head was tilted back, dark hair falling out of her face, and stuck out her lower lip. Avalon seemed to relent. "I mean, Fred' a cool kid and I think he's been a great friend to Bay."

Bailey smiled at Avalon.

"Well, from the way things are going, it seems to me that they're more than—"

"Dad!" Fred interrupted. "Don't you have to go back to work?" He glared at his father, hoping to further prove his point.

"I'm going, I'm going. Good luck, Fred." He gave his son a hug before turning and weaving his way back through the crowds of the gym. Fred watched him leave, trying to stall for time before he had to face the girls again. As he turned, he spotted Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Jason, Billy, and Trini walk through the double doors of the gym. "Hey!" Fred waved an arm and Tommy nodded at him before coming back over towards them. "It's Tommy and the others. I didn't know they were coming." He turned back around and frowned when he noticed a cold expression come over Avalon's face.

"I'm going to go check out some of the other projects, Bay, I'll be back later," she said and walked off right as the rangers arrived.

"Hey, Fred!" Tommy held out his hand and Fred eagerly accepted the high-five. "Bailey, this project looks great." He reached out and put his arm around Bailey's shoulders, giving her a hug.

"Happy Birthday," Trini added.

"Thanks." Bailey beamed. "I can't wait for the party." She turned back to Billy. "Your parents are really nice for deciding to throw it for me," she added, a little shyly. "They didn't have to do go to that much trouble."

"They're glad to do it," Billy replied. He placed his hands on his hips, a sad look coming to his eyes. "Turning thirteen is a really exciting thing and they wanted to be sure you had a great birthday." His eyes moved around.

"So, uh…where's Avalon?" Jason broke in. "I didn't think she would miss such an important day for you."

"Oh." Bailey waved a hand. "She's off looking at some other projects."

"Right."

"Actually, could you do that? Then it'd give me and Fred some idea of how well we'd hold up against everyone else."

"That's a great idea!" Zack agreed. He slapped Jason on the shoulder before pointing. "Hey, Jase, do you remember when we made a volcano for our project?" He grabbed the red ranger's shoulders and steered him towards the display.

"Yeah," Kimberly called after them. "You had the whole school cleared out while the hazmat team tried to contain the toxic fumes."

"And it was awesome," Jason agreed, giving Zack a high-five.

The rangers walked away from the table. Fred smiled before turning back to Bailey, who was playing with a corner of the display, her mouth twisted to the side. "Is it just me or was there some sort of tension when you're sister was here?" He asked her.

Bailey sighed and nodded. She ran a hand through her hair, finally turning to face him. "…My mum…she came back from Australia…and there were some things that she didn't tell us that Billy and Trini knew…and Av's _really_ pissed." She shook her head. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. Can we just…present our project?"

"Sure." Fred picked up a pen and started to mess with it, twirling it around his fingers. "So you're having a party today, huh?"

Bailey flushed. She kept her head down. "Um. Yeah." Her cheeks reddened to that of a cherry. "You know…you can come…I mean, if you want. There's going to be cake and ice cream and lollies…and presents. I mean, if you're not busy or anything."

"I'd love to go," Fred said quickly. He cleared his throat, when Bailey smiled, glancing at him. "I mean." He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "If my Dad lets me. You know."

"Cool."

"Cool."

There was a prolonged moment of silence between the two as they pretended to look over their project one more time. Fred was really proud of it. They were the only ones that were doing a project that could help the environment and everyone around him. Who else would come up with a project that would test if nanoparticles were effective at treating diseases? It had been hard to come up with at first, having shot down a lot of ideas that would have been too easy for Bailey or too simple for Fred. He was smart, but not on the same level as the rangers' technical advisor. So when she suggested that they do a study on zinc oxide particles killing E. coli he readily agreed to it.

And it was fun to be able to spend some time with her, doing homework together, when they weren't at their martial arts lessons with Jason and Tommy. "Do you think you would want to—"

"Look out!" Bailey gasped.

Fred turned around and ducked as a putty aimed a punched towards his face. He grabbed onto the putties arm and raised his knee, driving it into the putties chest, directly hitting the 'Z' plate in the middle of its chest. It broke apart in his hands and he turned to find Bailey fighting a putty of her own before two more landed on him. They grabbed his arms and tried to force him to the ground, but he flipped backwards, landing on his feet, and slamming the two putties together by chest, smashing their 'Z's together.

"Kiya!" Bailey did a scissor kick into a putty's chest, knocking it and a few others back to the ground like dominoes.

"What do these guys want this time?" Fred asked, moving to Bailey's side. He looked around as screams erupted in the gym. The rangers had noticed and started to fight off the putties as the middle school kids and their parents started to run away.

"Our project!"

At Bailey's cry, Fred turned and saw Squatt, who had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed their project and disappeared once more. "Well, that answers _that_ question."

* * *

 

"Why would putties want to attack at a middle school science fair?" Kimberly asked, knocking a putty back to the ground.

"Why else?" Jason replied. "Rita and Zedd can make a monster out of anything; I'm surprised it took them this long to come up with it." He and the other rangers all gathered around each other, surveying the damage that was inflicted by the putties. Avalon ran up to them.

"Guys, Rita took Fred's and Bailey's project," She explained, running a hand over her face. She was careful not to show off the side of her face. "And from what I understand with it, that's not a good thing."

"She's right," Billy agreed. "Nano particles have the ability to break down even the tiniest piece of bacteria and atoms and can inflict a lot of damage." He gestured over to Bailey and Fred, who were still fighting putties as hard as they could. "Based on their project alone, this monster could easily kill some innocent people if it's able to kill the E. coli bacteria the way it does."

"We need to get to the Command Center," Tommy said.

"Right," Trini and Zack agreed.

The rangers teleported to the Command Center where alarms were going off and Alpha was already starting to worry. "Rangers! Rita's Nano Monster is attack everything in sight. One blast from its powerful ray and it can erase a tree from existence."

"The shields on our zords should be able to counter attack that sort of attack," Billy said, though there was a trace of concern in his voice.

"Do you think our suits can handle it?" Trini asked.

"We'll just have to be sure we don't get by the beam then," Avalon said firmly.

"Sounds good to me," Tommy agreed. The rangers pulled out their morphers. "It's morphin' time! Tiger Zord!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers teleported down to the area in front of Angel Grove Middle school where the Nano Monster was aiming a blast over at the cars parked out front. The colorful superheroes watched as the beam struck a car and it broke down to nothing before their eyes.

"Make sure the beam doesn't touch you," Tommy instructed. "And spread out!" The rangers all summoned their power weapons and charged towards the Nano Monster. They started off with an up-close attack, using their weapons to block whatever the Nano Monster sent their way. However he would easily knock them aside, causing them to try different tactics, though none of them seemed to work either.

"Stegorang!" A boomerang appeared in Avalon's hand and she threw it as hard as she could. The Nano Monster watched it with his eyes, turning away for a moment. Avalon took the opportunity. "Power Staff!" She held her staff high in the air, her hands and the staff started to glow orange. "Fire!" She shot a fireball out at the monster, hitting him in the back. Billy, Trini and Kimberly followed suit, using their water, lightning, and wind powers to strike the monster.

"Ugh! Now I'm really starting to get mad!" The Nano Monster cried. He bent over and the canon on his front started to glow brightly, sucking in energy.

"Guys, I think you upset it!" Zack cried, tightening his grip on his power axe.

 _"Don't worry,"_ Bailey's voice filled their helmets from the Command Center. She sounded out of breath. _"I have an idea. Just wait a little bit longer. I'm sure it'll work."_

"What are we going to do?" Kimberly asked as Tommy moved in front of her, slightly holding out his arms to shield her. "Nothing we do is working. If we get hit by this thing we could be…" she trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud.

The Nano Monster continued to absorb energy.

"Thunder crash!" As a last ditch effort, Trini threw a ball of electricity at the Nano Monster. It was a direct hit, but the electricity was absorbed into the canon, increasing the ball of light. "Oh no!"

"Everyone watch it!" Jason called as the monster shot out its blast. He leapt to the side, knocking Avalon to the ground. Tommy, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, and Billy leapt out in the other direction. As the canon fire shot by, parts of their suits were melted away, revealing their skin underneath. "Whoa, that was close."

"You're telling me." Avalon sat up and glanced at her leg, where the boot and the bottom of her suit had disappeared. Her skin had turned a bright pink. "I've had road rash before and those were beauties. But this sucks."

"Watch out guys!" Zack called, scrambling backwards. "He's out to do it again!"

The rangers watched as the Nano Monster started to charge up once more. Helpless, the rangers continued to watch. "Say goodbye, rangers!" The Nano Monsters called seconds before he shot out his attack. At the last second, a dark purple, almost black power ranger leapt in front of the blow. It threw Steggy, who it held in its hand, into the blast and leapt backwards, landing on its knee.

The rangers watched as Steggy was bathed in the light of the canon fire for a few seconds before growing back to her normal size. She let out a loud roar, pawing at the ground. "Talk about an upgrade," Jason remarked to Avalon.

"Yeah," she whispered in reply.

"You think that some puny little pet will stop me?" The Nano Monster cried, glaring at the rangers. "We'll just see about that." A bolt of lightning came from the sky and landed on the Nano Monster, causing it to increase in side, towering over them. Steggy growled once more, turning around and striking at the Monster with her tail.

"Be careful!" Avalon called.

"Though your zord has been returned to its normal size, it is not wise to use her as we don't know the adverse affects of the canon fire," Alpha warned her.

"Don't worry Alpha, we'll take this thing," Tommy said.

"Let's get rid of this thing," Jason declared. "We need Thunder Megazord power now!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord power!" Zack called.

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord power!" Kimberly called.

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord power!" Billy and Avalon called.

"Saber-Tooth Tiger, Gryphon Thunderzord power!" Trini called.

"Tyrannosaurs, Red Dragon, Thunderzord power!" Jason called.

"White Tiger Thunderzord power!" Tommy called.

The rangers jumped into their zords and brought the zord together to create the Thundermegazord. With Jason at the controls, the rangers moved forward and started a hand-to-hand combat with the Nano Monster. It was stronger than they anticipated, able to knock them back and strike the front of the zord with so much power that it cracked the glass.

"Shields are coming down!" Billy said, pressing as many buttons as he could.

"The hydraulic are failing, too," Trini said. There was a note of urgency to her tone. "If we don't get a handle on them soon, we're done for."

"Maybe we can use Steggy's attachment," Zack suggested. "Stick her on the arm, use her as a saw and cut right through his cannon."

"Alpha and Zordon said not to," Avalon reminded him. "We don't know of the side effects of the canon on her." She paused for a moment. "Though I've had the same idea, dude, trust me."

"Looks like we're not going to have to wait long for help," Tommy said from his own zord. The rangers turned in the direction that his zord was pointing and they watched as an Ankylosaurus zord appeared on the horizon, racing towards the Nano Monster. The zord leapt onto the Nano Monster's back, knocking him to the ground, arms and legs flailing.

"I'll get you for this!" The monster cried, reaching up and trying to knock the Ankylosaurus zord off him.

The Ankylosaurus ranger controlled the zord to leap up into the air and fall back down on its back, using the spikes and plates that ran along its spine to rip into and puncture the canon. It dropped to the ground, the back end smoking as the Nano Monster finally got to its feet. "My canon!" He cried, reaching up to the empty area in front of its face. "You're going down, rangers!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Jason declared. "Tommy, are you ready?"

"You got it, Jase!" Tommy replied.

They controlled their zords to hold up their swords, taking in the power of the zords and slashed at the monster, causing it to explode, taking in all of their energy. The rangers all cheered in approval, congratulating each other, before they teleported back to the Command Center, demorphing from their suits.

"Congratulations rangers," Zordon said as they arrived. "You defeated the Nano Monster—"

"Yeah, yeah, who cares about that?" Zack broke in. Zordon chuckled. "We want to know who the Ankylosaurus ranger is. I mean, if there's a chance that the ranger is someone evil…this time of helping us could have a fluke."

"I'm sure you've said the same thing about me and I turned out OK," Avalon pointed out. She rolled her eyes to herself, realizing it was what she had been thinking about earlier that morning when she had been on the drug run with the Vipers.

"That's still up for debate," Jason replied. He laughed as Avalon elbowed him in the side.

Alpha trotted over to the circle, looking back and forth between the rangers. "Before we do that, Zordon has something to tell you, Avalon." The orange ranger turned up to their mentor looking at her feet in embarrassment when he gave hear a smile that was like of a father proud of his daughter.

"Avalon you have now regained the ability to command the Stegosaurus zord," he said. "As well, you now have a Thunderzord of your own. Using the Stegosaurus zord, along the call of _Stegosaurus, Phoenix, Thunderzord Power_ you can now join the artillery with the other rangers."

Avalon beamed. "Thanks, Zordon," she said. Then the news finally struck her. She had her own zord back; she had the Thunderzord powers that the other rangers had. She wasn't going to be co-piloting the triceratops zord anymore. Before she could stop herself, she looked over her shoulder at Billy who caught her gaze and gave a tiny, reassuring smile. Avalon looked away, refusing to smile back.

The sound of footsteps caught their attention and the rangers turned, watching as the Ankylosaurus ranger walked to the center of the room. It looked around at the rangers before reaching up and pulling off their helmet, revealing Bailey's beaming face underneath. All but Avalon made sounds of approval as the older Mitchell sister slapped her hand over her face.

"And young Bailey, you have proven many times, again and again, that while you are young, you're a formidable addition to this team. Because of your brains and your determination to face whatever comes your way, I'm pleased to present you with the powers of the Ankylosaurus. May the power protect you."

"Thanks," Bailey said. "That fight was _so_ awesome!" She held her composure for a few seconds before clenching her hands into fists and squealing. "Best birthday _ever_!"

* * *

 

Avalon smiled, watching as Bailey grabbed a large wrapped box and starting to tear into the wrapping paper at warped speed, adding it to the pile of shredded paper to the floor. Her smile widened when she let out a squeal, pulling a jean jacket out of the box. "Av, this is ace!" She cried before turning and hugging her sister around the waist. "Thank you."

"No worries, Bay." Avalon hugged her back. "Happy Birthday." She let go of Bailey and watched as she turned to Kimberly, who had picked up the sleeve of the jacket and was rubbing it through her fingers. Avalon turned to her mother, who was standing at her side, holding onto a cup of punch. "Does it feel weird to you that she's getting so grown up?"

"I'm her mother, Cadence, we feel that way when you learn to walk," Ellie replied with a light, tinkling laugh. Avalon realized she had missed hearing her mother's laughter. It was always so melodic and lovely, something that comforted her when she needed. "It was so nice of Mr. and Mrs. Cranston to throw the party for her," She added, her voice lowering. "If things weren't the way they were—"

"You would have thrown the party if you could, Mum," Avalon reassured her. "No worries."

"A mother worries, Cadey."

"I know." Avalon knew exactly how her mother felt. Having been the person that took care of her for so long. She had a tendency to be overprotective, more than she thought she would ever be. But with an absence of her own mother…it was still awkward to think about. Especially with Ellie standing beside her. "Um, I'm going to go thank them," she said before crossing the room to Mr. and Mrs. Cranston. "David, Lacey I wanted to thank you guys again for throwing this party for Bailey."

"We were glad to do it, Avalon," Lacey said with a bright smile. She looked down at her camera for a moment then exchanged a sheepish glance with her husband. "Actually, we had our own little agenda when it came to this ruse of a party."

Avalon's eyebrows furrowed.

"You see," David started. "We couldn't help but notice that you and Billy haven't been the best of friends lately," he said. Avalon pressed her lips into a thin line, nodding. "It's strange seeing the two of you go around here as if you don't even know each other. From what we could understand, he's done something to upset you and he's really, very sorry for what he's done and I'd hate to see this break up your friendship."

Avalon stubbornly crossed her arms. "You don't even know what he did."

"In the grand scheme of things does it matter?" Lacey gently pointed out. "Especially considering you need as much support as you can now more than ever."

Avalon gave them a polite smile, suddenly annoyed. She knew they were right. And she had missed talking to him too. She just couldn't get that sense of betrayal out of her head. If she had learned something like that about one of the people that had been her friend, she would have said something as soon as she knew about it. And yet, he knew for months and hadn't said a word. She was starting to become angry again. Turning on her heel she almost walked into Jason.

"What are you following me now?" She asked him.

Jason smiled at her. "You'd like that wouldn't you," he said. Avalon tilted her head, giving him a stern look. "And, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Billy's parents and I agree with them. Billy really is sorry, you should give him a second chance."

"Why should I?" She demanded.

"Well, because you're miserable for one," Jason pointed out. "I haven't seen anything worse than this except for the one and only time Kim and Trini were fighting with each other." He gestured with his cup of punch. "Yeah, it only lasted a couple hours, but they were miserable." Avalon gave him a funny look. "We were in middle school."

"Oh."

"Anyway, instead of being mad at him, why don't you try to understand why you're so mad?" Jason suggested. "Because if you asked me—"

"—I didn't—"

"—You're not really mad at him, you're mad at the situation and are just lashing out because he was the confirmed what's been going on and what made you come here to Angel Grove."

Avalon twisted her mouth to the side. As much as she hated to admit it, he was making a lot of sense. Sighing, Avalon shook her head. She then tilted her head up to look directly at Jason. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because." Jason replied. He was silent for a long moment. "You know, I always wanted to have a brother or sister. And I think if I had one, she'd be like you. Always going along with her gut instinct and playing off her feelings. I'd want to protect her and see that she's OK."

Avalon gave a smarmy smile. "Last I checked, little sisters didn't kiss their big brothers."

"Good to know you can finally talk about that without the threat of your head exploding," Jason said, causing her to roll her eyes. "And you're right, but I think it would be better if we just pretended that it didn't happen." He gave her a meaningful look. "Go talk to him, Avie. It'll make you feel better."

"Fine," Avalon relented. "I'll go talk to him, Jay." She reached out and poked him on the shoulder, making note that his shoulders had become broader than she remembered. "But only to get you off my back about it."

"Good enough."

Avalon walked away from Jason and over to Billy, who was sitting on the floor beside Bailey, explaining the microscope that he had gotten for her, showing her the different components and how it differed from all of the other ones. Avalon motioned to get Billy's attention and when she had it, she led him out of the living room and away from their friends and family to the kitchen.

"Bailey seems to be enjoying herself," Billy said once they were alone. He stammered the beginning, not wanting silence to take them over. "I don't think I've seen her smile as much."

"Yeah, your parents did a beauty job with it," Avalon agreed. Her voice was a little flat, showing that's not what she wanted to talk about. "Anyway, I wanted to talk…about what happened with my mum and everything."

"I really am sorry," Billy said.

"I know." Her statement startled him, confused. "I know you're sorry, but I should be the one…apologizing." It looked like it pained her to have to do so. She licked her lips then looked up at him, a serious expression on her face. "Growing up I had friends, but nothing that was as close as to what you guys have come to me. They were just people I hung out with and went to parties with and had fun. But you guys…" she shook her head. "I've put more trust in you lot than I ever have in anyone else in my entire life and that scares me." Her voice cracked for a second. "I don't know if someone's going to use that information and use me…kind of like Chase did. I guess that's why I stuck with him for so long, because he was playing off my feelings of abandonment." She let out a shaky breath. "And…with you…I felt that I finally had someone I didn't have to worry about. I don't know, maybe having piloted your zord with you made me trust you a lot more than the other rangers. Maybe because you're more like me than I originally thought?"

Billy looked interested. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Avalon shrugged. "You're kind of a lone wolf in a way. Kim and Trini have each other, Kim and Tommy had each other and Jason and Zack…and you're so into science and your studies and kinda…separate from the others. Kind of like me. So I guess I gravitated towards you a little more." Avalon took another deep breath, nervously playing with her fingers. She had never opened herself up to someone like this before and now she was putting herself out on the line to explain herself. "And then when I found out that you kept things about my Dad from me…I panicked and shut myself off." Her shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

Billy blinked for a long moment, and then ran his hand over his mouth. He walked over to Avalon and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the touch and nervously looked up at him. "I'm sorry, too," he said honestly.

Avalon gave a small smile. "So…we're friends again? I'm sorry; I don't really know how this works."

"We kind of have to be," Billy said. "Or else the natural balance of the house will be destroyed." He gestured towards the living room. "I can already guesstimate from my mother's and father's tense positions of body language show they're affected by our fighting as well."

"Yeah…" Avalon's eyes narrowed. "I just got that memo." She then gave Billy a hesitant smile before opening her arms and wrapping them around Billy in a hug. He was surprised for a moment then hugged her back.

"Is everything OK?" Trini nervously poked her head into the kitchen. She pointed over her shoulder before venturing further into the kitchen. "Jason said that you wanted to see me," she added, to Avalon. The orange ranger rolled her eyes and let go of Billy before going over to the yellow ranger and smiling at her.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," She said to her. "I was just…angry that my father had done so much that I didn't know about. Having everything revealed like that…" She shook her head. The symantics didn't matter now. Jason and the Cranstons were right. She needed nothing but the utmost support right now, to get through everything in her life, especially with her tumultuous double—or rather triple—life she was working through. "I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Trini replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I understand. I'm sorry, too."

Avalon smiled.

At least part of the world was lifted off her shoulders. Now she could relax a little.

* * *

 

"Hey Bailey." Fred tapped the new power ranger on the shoulder. "I have to get going, my Dad's here."

"Oh." Bailey smoothed down her skirt. Her eyes shifted for a moment. "I—I'll walk you out." She stood up and the two looked at each other for a moment before they automatically turned their gaze to the first place science fair trophy that sat on the wall. "Oh, you can have it at your house first."

"That's ok," Fred said quickly. "You can have it."

"No. No. It wouldn't be fair." Bailey reached out and grabbed onto the handle of the trophy. "We can trade shifts each month or something and—"Fred reached out a hand and laid it on top of hers, enclosing her hand over the handle.

"Don't worry about it," he insisted.

"…OK." Fred removed his hand and Bailey dropped hers off of the trophy before walking to the door. Fred opened it and the two stepped out onto the porch. Bailey could see Fred's father's truck parked a few spots down the street. "Thanks for coming to my party…and for asking me to be your partner for the science fair. It was fun." She clasped her hands together behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"It was fun," Fred agreed. He was facing away from her, though he had a sincere smile on his face. "The party was fun, the cake was good, we won first place in the science fair…" he made a face, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wonder if we still would have won if Rita's putties didn't destroy everything else."

"I'd rather not question it," Bailey said.

"Yeah."

The two laughed.

Mr. Kelman honked the horn on his truck and Fred waved a hand in his direction. He turned back to Bailey, appearing more nervous than before. "Um. Here's your birthday gift." He held out a silver butterfly barrette. "I'm sorry I didn't get anything else," he said quickly. "I just…didn't know what you liked and I wasn't sure if you even like that but it was the first thing that I _thought_ you would like so…yeah."

Bailey smiled, turning the present in her hands. "I like it, Fred," she reassured him. "Really. Thanks." Before she could stop herself, she stepped forward and gave Fred a hug. He faltered at first then brought an arm up, hugging her around the shoulders.

"You're welcome." Mr. Kelman honked the horn again. "I have to go." He turned back to Bailey with a playful smile. "Maybe you could walk me to my car, too," he said. "You know, in case putties attack again."

Bailey laughed and stepped with him off the porch, the two heading to the truck. After a few steps, she felt something brush against the palm of her hand before feeling Fred's fingers wedge between hers and curl around the back of her hand, holding their palms together.

She smiled.


	12. The More The Merrier

**Chapter 12**

_The More the Merrier_

* * *

 

"Are you sure you can't stay, Mum?" Bailey asked. She stuck out her lower lip as far as it would go. Ellie laughed and ruffled her hair as she walked by her daughter towards the hotel bathroom. She took her toiletry bag with her, opening it up and dropping the complimentary shampoo, conditioner, and soap inside. "Av is having a surf competition today…" her eyes shifted as Avalon gave her a look. "It was rescheduled after some…technical difficulties last time."

Ellie laughed, lifting her head and looking at her daughter through the mirror. "Is that what you're calling monster attacks now?" She turned around, resting her lower back against the side of the counter and crossed her arms. "Your father has known that you've become a ranger, Av, as soon as it happened. He's been keeping track of you two ever since…" she rubbed the side of her face. "Actually, I don't know how long he's been watching you two, but long enough to know what you've been up to for the past couple of years."

Avalon's eyes narrowed. "And he hasn't bothered to come and talk to us? Or to see us or anything?" She snorted, shaking her head. "There's the father of the year."

"You know he's always busy with his work," Ellie said calmly. "I think his keeping his eye on you is a testament to—"

"—to the fact that he's wondering what the exposure to his experimental power rangers power will do to me," Avalon interrupted. She shook her head, turning away from her mother when she held her gaze on her eldest daughter.

 _What are you trying to do? Permanently push her away?_ Avalon lowered her head, allowing her hair to cover her face. She wasn't still entirely sure how to feel about everything. Maybe it hadn't hit her yet. Her mother wasn't as big a jerk as she was originally made to believe; in fact it was her father that had been the one that screwed things up for them. He was the one that had a dying wife, cheated on her with another woman, got her pregnant twice, and lived a double life while trying to take care of four kids. And now she and Bailey were victims of circumstance. What else could go wrong? _Probably a lot._ Avalon lifted her gaze once more, looking at her mother. _And pushing away the woman that's trying to make things right isn't going to help you, Av._

"Sorry," she finally managed to say. Her cheek twitched as soon as the word came out of her mouth. She was not used to having to apologize. It was one of her biggest flaws; one that she could admit to herself anyway. She never felt the need to apologize unless she felt she absolutely had to. It, admittedly, got her into more trouble than it was worth sometimes.

"It's alright, Ava," Ellie replied. "It's a weird situation for all of us." Her jaw tightened as something strange crossed her face. She twisted her mouth to the side then raised a hand to cover her mouth, closing her eyes. She stood still for a long moment. Bailey glanced at her and then at Avalon, who looked just as concerned. Still, they waited for her to regain her composure instead of pushing her to talk. "Sorry, it's…really hard." There was a loud beep that emanated from her watch and she sighed, pushing herself up. "Alright, I really have to go so I can catch my flight." She opened her arms and walked over to Bailey, giving her a tight hug. "Bye."

"Bye Mummy," Bailey replied, hugging her back.

Avalon walked over to her mother, hesitated for a moment, and then hugged her as well. Ellie smiled and hugged her back, gently cradling Avalon's head against her shoulder, running he hand over her hair. Avalon was suddenly struck with how much she needed that hug. No matter what sort of thing a kid id to screw up, their mother was always around to pick them up and kiss their cuts and bruises and send them on their way. Avalon never had that luxury, not as long as she could remember and now that she finally had it, it was being taken away from for.

At least for the time being.

"Bye Mum," Avalon whispered. She pulled back and gave her mother a small smile.

Ellie reached out and smoothed Avalon's hair off the face then turned back to Bailey and gave her a kiss on the side of the head. "I'll be back soon," she promised. "And besides, if you ever wanted to visit, I guess you could just teleport or fly or whatever."

"Mom, we're power rangers, not circus people," Bailey pointed out. She turned to Avalon and made the crazy sign by the side of her head. Avalon laughed and gently pushed her shoulder before pulling her into her side, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.

"I'll call when I land," Ellie promised. She gathered her bags together and the three walked out of the hotel room and got into the elevator. They rode it down to the lobby, Ellie checked out, and then they went out to the curb where a taxi was waiting for them. Ellie placed her bags in the trunk then walked back around and gave her daughters another hug. "I know this is going to be hard, but we'll get through it." She gave the girls another hug, waved, then got into the backseat of the taxi.

The orange and purple rangers watched as the taxi drove away.

"I hope she comes back soon," Bailey murmured, scratching the back of her head. "It was nice having her around." She leaned against Avalon's side, gazing up at her older sister, who had her jaw clenched, eyebrows lowered. "Do you think…do you think she's going to get custody of us again?"

Avalon started, and then her expression cleared. She looked down at her little sister for a long moment before smirking. "Seems to me that you're just trying to get away from me." She turned her sister around and they started to walk back in the direction they came. "And to think after this whole time of taking care of you and this is the thanks I get. Cheers, Bay, you're a legend."

"Oh come on!" Bailey rolled her eyes. "I probably wouldn't have as much grief if it weren't for you."

"Or food or clothes or spending money," Avalon said.

"Whatever."

"Love you too, Bay."

* * *

 

"So go get her, Billy," Kimberly said. She turned around in her seat and smiled warmly at the blue ranger, who had his arms crossed over his chest, looking away from her. Her smile widened when Billy glanced t her out of the corner of her eye. "Come on, it'll be nice if you walk her to the car."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure her parents will feel the same way," Billy admitted. "Especially considering I'm not their favorite person right now." He wiped his palms off on the legs of his jeans, starting to bounce his knees, heels of his feet barely tapping the floor as he balanced his weight on the balls of his feet.

Kimberly turned back to the front seat and glanced at Tommy, who sat behind the steering wheel of the car. He gave her a knowing smile and Kimberly smiled back, reaching out and grabbing onto his hand. She squeezed it for a moment then turned back to Billy. "It'll be seen as a gentleman thing," she insisted. "It'll definitely score you major points with the parentals."

"She's right, man," Tommy agreed. "A girl's parents like to think the guy their daughter is going to go out with is a nice guy." Kimberly frowned and slapped Tommy on the arm. "Ow! What'd I say?"

Billy snorted. He continued to bounce his knees up and down, running his hands over the legs of his jeans. He glanced at the pink and white rangers in the front seat. Maybe they did have a point. Kimberly's mother was protective over her daughter—which was ironic as she didn't know about her double life—and had looked over each and every boy she had ever gone out with. Tommy had managed to win her over fairly quickly as he had brought flowers to the house when he first went out on a date with Kimberly. She had been a bit suspicious, not sure if any boy really was as nice as he was. Tommy must have done something right as the two rangers had been inseparable ever since.

 _There is a bit of genuineness in that statement,_ Billy thought. He took a deep breath and opened the door to Tommy's white jeep, quickly jumping out and closing the door behind him. He tried to ignore the obvious stares Kimberly and Tommy were sending his way—they were like tractor beams in his back—and walked up the front path, jumping up onto the porch. He reached out a hand and brought it towards the door to knock, halting his movement as his knuckles were seconds away from brushing the door. He slowly brought his hand back, curling his fingers into his fists. Licking his lips, he brought his hand back down to his side. _C'mon, Billy, you can do this._ He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for the door to answer. He took a step back as the door opened and Mr. Kwan regarded him with a cold stare. Billy instinctively took a step back from the door.

"Yes? What can I help you with?" Mr. Kwan asked gruffly. He looked Billy up and down, not trying to hide the distaste that slid over his face.

"Uh, yeah, I'm…uh, here to see Trini," Billy said. He ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, uh, I'm here to pick her up." He motioned to the car behind him, where Kimberly and Tommy waved once they had been seen. "We're going to the beach."

"Didn't you two go to the beach before?"

 _Before or after the monster attack?_ Billy thought. He didn't ask the question aloud. The obvious mistrust his friend's father was showing jarred him more than he anticipated. What was it about her dating him that had angered him and his wife so badly? He understood that they wanted their daughter to marry a Vietnamese man, but that was far off in the future. And even if she did have an arranged marriage to the guy they chose for her, she didn't particularly have to get started on the marriage ceremonies before…The blue ranger firmly pressed his lips together. He hoped he would be able to prove to them that he was a good person if not convince them that arranging her marriage wasn't the way to go.

"Yes, sir," he replied. "But our friend is competing in surfing on the beach today and we all want to show her some support."

"Hey, Billy!" Trini appeared behind her father with a bright smile. If she had noticed the tension between the two men, she didn't acknowledge it. The smile on her face showed she didn't have a care in the world, though the slight dim in her eyes said otherwise. "I'm going to the beach now," she said to her father. Billy glanced at her. Was there a harsh tone to her voice? He wasn't exactly sure. Trini gave her father a kiss on the cheek then smiled at Billy as she moved by the two of them.

She seemed to have changed her mind as she suddenly stopped short and turned back around, walking over to Billy. He didn't have a chance to move before she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in, giving him a kiss. Billy froze, not that he didn't enjoy it; just that it didn't register in his head what was happening. Not only was it his first kiss with Trini, but it was his first kiss in general. His eyes slowly closed as he opened his mouth to kiss her back, nothing mattered to him other than being in that moment and kissing his girlfriend.

Finally, Trini pulled back and smiled, now somewhat shyly at him, and let go of his shoulders. She turned on her heel once more and walked towards the jeep, where Kimberly was squealing and squeezing the life out of Tommy's arm. Billy watched her go then turned back to Mr. Kwan. He blinked in surprise to see that he was now glaring.

"Uh." Billy raised his hand. "It's nice to see you again…Mr. Kwan."

"I wish I could say the same," Mr. Kwan replied. He stepped back and slammed the door behind the blue ranger, who let out a deep breath before turning and walking to the car himself. He opened the door and slid inside, buckling himself in. Tommy started up the car and pulled away from the curb and started off down the street.

Billy ran a hand over his face. Feeling how warm it was, he concentrated and watched as his hand glowed blue before droplets appeared on the skin before forming a small puddle in the center of his palm. He reached a hand up to his forehead and wiped the cool water across his forehead before relaxing, allowing the glow and water to go away.

"Uh, Billy," Kimberly finally spoke up from the front seat. Billy braced himself for the teasing, the catcalls, and the knowing smiles Kimberly and Tommy were going to send his way. Beside him, he heard Trini try to cover a laugh. Billy glanced at the girl and, confused, reached out and grabbed the compact mirror she was handing to him. "You might want to do something about your hair."

Billy looked into the compact mirror, tilting it up high enough so that he could see his hair. He frowned when he saw that it was, once again, standing on end, and turned to Trini, who had now burst out laughing, dimples forming in her cheeks.

"Sorry," she managed to squeak out before laughing again.

* * *

 

"Are you ready?"

Avalon reached behind her and pulled on the zipper of her rash guard. She tugged her hair free of the collar then wrapped it up in a ponytail. Finally, once she was sure she had everything in place she turned to address Zack, who was standing by her side, arms crossed over his chest, looking out at the water. "Pretty sure," she replied. She bobbed her head, glancing out at the water once more. "The only thing that could make this perfect is if the water was actually warm. But the water doesn't seem to ever get warm here, yeah?"

"Yeah, that's us Californians, we live in the perpetual paradise," Zack said with a grin. He stretched his arms up over his head then draped it around the orange ranger's shoulders. "You must be jealous considering we don't get a winter."

Bailey, who was sitting cross-legged in the sand next to Fred, snorted loudly. "We have winter," she explained, pushing her glasses up her nose. "But it's still as warm as it is in summer." She held up a finger. "Besides, we get Christmas in the middle of our summer and being able to go to the beach during Christmas is the best."

Zack looked at her, dumbfounded. He turned to Avalon who laughed. "You should never try to argue where it's better to live, we'll always try to win," she said then tilted her head at her sister. "Besides, arguing with Bailey in general is a bad idea; she'll just make you feel stupid."

"Too late for that," Fred called out and the group burst out laughing.

Zack waved his hand, indicating that they should keep laughing. He shook his head, scanning the beach once more. It really was a good day to be able to go out and just hang out with their friends. Maybe, for once, they wouldn't have to worry about a monster attack. "I wouldn't put it past Rita and Zedd to do something," he muttered to Avalon so Fred wouldn't hear. "The water is perfect for it. She has one water horoscope left…Aquarius or whatever."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Avalon agreed. She placed her hands in the pockets of her swimming shorts. "Though I'm going to do m best to keep from agonizing over it. Or else I won't be do as well as I usually do."

"Have you competed before?"

"A couple of times. I haven't gone surfing much since I've been here, though." Avalon scratched the side of her neck. "That reminds me, I talked to the track coach and he said he'd be _glad_ to have me on the team." She rolled her eyes and Zack chuckled. He tightened his grip around her shoulders.

"Seems to me that you and I have a lot more in common, Kid," he said.

"I was thinking the same thing, Twinkle-Toes," Avalon replied. She gently shoved him away and sat down on her towel on the sand, stretching out her legs as she did so. Zack sat down on his own towel and the four looked over the beach. It was filled with people milling around, talking, laughing, and getting ready for the surf competition that day. Girls carrying different sized surfboards in different colored rash guards with numbers pinned to their front walked around.

Avalon rubbed her hands together between her upraised knees. She hadn't been that nervous in a long time. Maybe it was knowing she was going to be performing, in a way. Kimberly, or was it Jason, had actually hit the nail on the head back after they had caught her singing in hers and Bailey's apartment. She had stage fright and in a way it leaked over into all aspects of her life. It was the first time she had been in a surfing competition in a while and she was nervous about doing a good job after the absence, she had disguised that feeling with a false bravado the first couple of times she had fought as a ranger. She had put herself and the other ranges in danger many times because of it, but that was just her. She hated to show her emotions and did her best to hide them with a tough exterior.

It was a wonder any of them were her friends now; there was no way in hell she was going to jinx it.

"Hey guys," Jason greeted as he slowed to a jog in front of the rangers. He placed his hands on his hips, gently stretching his legs.

"Back from your run already?" Zack asked.

"That's, like, the second one since you got here, mate," Avalon said. She smirked, her eyes flashing. "Are you trying to overcompensate for something, Rudolph?"

"No." Jason ignored her dig, sitting down and reaching out a leg. He grabbed the bottom of his foot and leaned forward, stretching his hamstring. "Just making sure I get some work done today." He looked over at Bailey and Fred. "Even if you have a day off, it's good for your mind and body to get even a few minutes of exercise in."

"Speaking of which," Fred spoke up, shielding his face with his hand. "When are we going to get tested for our belts? You and Tommy brought it up ages ago." Bailey bobbed her head in agreement, brown eyes lighting up in excitement.

Jason chuckled as he leaned over and started to stretch his other leg. "Just be patient. You'll get to it soon enough." Once he was done stretching his legs, he turned around and placed his hands in the sand and started to do a series of pushups. Not that he wasn't glad to be able to support Avalon in her competition; it just put his workout routine a day behind and he couldn't afford that. Not with football practices and games he had to stay in shape for and for the monster fights that took up the rest of his time. He needed to be in tip-top shape for all of it. Jason closed his eyes and did another push-up. He knew all eyes were on him, maybe rolling, maybe looking at him in disbelief. He had to keep his energy level up and the steroid use was working well for that and for his muscle growth. As soon as he got to the point where he felt good all over, he would stop.

No problem.

"Did someone lose a bet or something?" He heard Tommy's voice behind him and he whirled back around to find Kimberly, Tommy, Billy, and Trini—all respectively holding each other's hands—as they walked over. "Or are you just showing off."

"The latter," Avalon piped up.

"Thanks Avie," Jason muttered, rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome, Jay."

Jason could see Kimberly and Trini exchange glances but didn't question it as they took out their towels and the rangers all sat down together. Jason stretched out on his towel, placing his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he basked in the sunlight and the energy of his friends around him.

"Today's such a beautiful day isn't it?" Kimberly asked. She adjusted her bikini top before lying down on her stomach, resting her cheek on her crossed arms. Trini squirted some sunscreen into her hands and started to rub it into her friend's back. "It's definitely a good day or a surfing competition."

"Yeah, but you're not the one competing, mate," Avalon murmured. She brought a hand up to her mouth and started to chew at her thumbnail, watching as the waves formed, crested, and crashed onto the shore. They looked to be of decent size; however the one thing she knew about the ocean, having been in it so often, was that it could change its mind. At one moment it would give the perfect waves with two minute intervals sets, the next minute, the wind could change directions and make it completely flat. Having studied the surf report all night and early that morning, it looked good. But she wasn't going to hold her breath.

"You're going to do fine," Billy reassured her. He reached out and took her shoulder in his hand, gently shaking her. "We checked everything out this morning. The optimal weather is evident and it looks like the ocean is reacting the way we predicted."

"Yeah…" Avalon didn't seem convinced. All of a sudden, she shifted her head to the side and shot up her hand, grabbing a Frisbee as it almost careened into the side of Bailey's head. "That was close."

"Whoa," Fred said, eyes widening. He sat up on his knees, mouth dropping open slightly as he gaped at the orange ranger. "How'd you do that? You must have the best reflexes anyone's ever seen." As if to prove his point, he reached out a hand as it to smack her on the wrist and she grabbed his hand, pushing him back away from her.

Zack laughed, clapping his hands. Trini tucked her hair behind her ear, leaning into Billy's side, laughing as well. "You should have seen that coming, Fred. Avalon is really…particular about her personal space."

Avalon looked up to see who the Frisbee belong to and found three teenagers their age walking their way, one a petite African-American girl in a yellow bathing suit, one a Korean boy in a black bathing suit, and a Mexican boy wearing a red bathing suit. It was the boy in red that spoke, lifting his hand as he walked over. "Sorry," he apologized. "It got away from me."

"I hope no one was hurt," the girl added.

"My sister almost had her brain cells knocked out," Avalon replied, tossing the Frisbee over to him. "But considering how smart she is, no one would notice." She let out a shriek of pain when the purple ranger reached over and smacked her big sister on the arm.

The three teenagers laughed. The boy in the black bathing suit motioned to himself. "I'm Adam, this is Rocky and Aisha," he introduced them.

"Hey, I'm Tommy." He nodded at the three then started to introduce everyone around them. "This is Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Zack, Trini, Fred, Bailey, and her sister Avalon." The rangers all nodded, waved, and smiled at their introductions. "Are you guys participating in the contest today?"

"No," Aisha replied but gave a kind smile at the mistake. "But some classmates of ours are competing and we thought we would come by and cheer them on."

"What school do you go to?" Trini asked.

"Stone Canyon High," Rocky said. He nodded at the looks of clarity on the rangers' and Fred's faces—apart from Avalon and Bailey. "Yeah, it's a bit of a drive, but it's worth it. It's a great day, y'know?" He shrugged and smiled, gesturing with the Frisbee. "Thanks for giving this back. Sorry about almost hitting you with it."

"It's alright," Kimberly agreed. She sat up. "Hey! Do you want to watch with us? I'm sure they're about to start soon."

"Uh…sure!"

Avalon then heard the sound of the marshal blowing an air-horn and knew that the competition was about to start. She picked up her surfboard and tucked it under her arm, waving to her friends before trotting off to go to the start line. She lined up with the other girls and listened as the marshal explained the rules. There were to be two heats; the first one being that would take the three with the highest scores and then the second that would be the final. Avalon took a deep breath, gently shifting her weight back and forth from each foot, licking her lips. She lowered his head and placed a hand against her chest, doing her best to stay calm. It wouldn't help if she got out of control and set her surfboard—or the ocean—on fire.

_"Though that kiss that you two shared could have set the ocean on fire…too bad it didn't work out…"_

Avalon shook her head. No. Today was going to be a good day; she shouldn't allow The Vipers to ruin her good mood. She hadn't heard anything from them all morning and she planned to keep it that way. Avalon lifted her head once more, pressing her lips together.

* * *

 

"On your marks…get set….go!"

Avalon tuned out the sound of the cheering crowd behind her as she ran into the water. Throwing her surfboard down, Avalon put herself down on her stomach and started to paddle as hard as she could to the breaking waves. When a bigger one headed towards her, she pushed herself up and pressed her knee into the board, pushing down on the sides of the board so the nose dipped into the water. Avalon took a deep breath and followed the board underneath the wave, allowing the water to wash over her. She popped back up on the other side and found herself slightly in the lead of the other competitors. A larger wave formed and Avalon paddled harder, pulling ahead. Once she was sure she had it, she sat up and straddled her board, using her hands to propel her around in a circle so that she faced the beach.

Lowering herself back down onto her stomach, Avalon paddled again until she felt her board get lifted up by the wave. She popped up to her feet and shifted her right foot forward, flying down the face of the wave. She stayed at the bottom, carving along the bottom of the wave, using her speed to get towards the top. She stuck her right hand in the water, pushing it along the face of the wave to speed herself even further. Once she was at the maximum speed she launched herself to the top of the wave and launched herself into the air. She grabbed the side of the board and twisted her body to the side, holding it as she fell back to the water. At the last second, she let go and righted herself and landing on the top of the wave where the spray originated—a floater. She went back down the face—doing a bottom turn—and did a quick one-eighty off the top as the wave dissipated.

Avalon fell to her stomach and paddled her arms to make it to the end of the lineup. Even though it was early in the competition, she knew she had a good ride. Hopefully it would get her to the final.

"She's doing so well," Trini said, clapping along with her friends as they watched Avalon tackle another wave. She tucked her hair behind her ears, turning to look at her friends.

"I know," Aisha agreed. "I don't think I've seen anyone do it like that before."

Bailey elbowed Billy in the side, giving him a knowing smile. "You're not doing anything to help her are you?" She asked him.

Billy smiled, holding his hands up defensively. "I swear I have done nothing to give her an advantage during this." He paused, holding up a finger, looking smug. "Apart from using my oceanic knowledge of course." Jason laughed and grabbed his shoulders, gently shaking him. He wouldn't feel good if he had helped her cheat during the competition. Even the night before she had jokingly suggested it, if she was doing badly. At least, he believed she was joking. But then she had given him a sweet smile and he could tell that she was just teasing him. He could still see the apprehension in her face, however, before she had gone to bed. He tried to reassure her the best he could and now he could see that she was doing an amazing job.

It was something they all needed, really. To be able to just hang out and remind themselves that they really were a bunch of teenagers and that they deserved to have fun and to have a good time whenever they got the chance. Of course the reminder of Mr. Kwan's glaring at him had to snuff the situation a little. He pushed the thought away and turned back to the competition.

"Go, Av!" Bailey shouted, waving her hands in the air.

"She only has enough time for one more wave," Adam commented, looking at his watch. The group watched as the orange continued to sit in the water, bobbing up and down as she let waves pass her by. "Do you think she's going to make it?"

"Not if she doesn't make a move soon," Rocky said.

"She knows what she's doing," Bailey reassured them.

"I hope so," Jason agreed. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest. He, Tommy, and Zack all appeared as anxious as Avalon was the night before. They were watching the water intently, with only a few minutes left in the final round she was going to have to make a move at some point. Jason glanced over at Billy, who was watching with an air of calm. All of a sudden, Avalon got down on her stomach and started to paddle as hard as she could as a wave formed and continued forming behind her.

"Looks like Avalon Mitchell is making her final move and it looks like the waiting paid off. This is going to be a big wave, guys!" The announcer called.

"Perfect timing," Tommy muttered, shaking his head. There was a bemused smile on his face. Jason nodded in agreement, trying not to let his excitement take him over yet, she still needed to do a good job. Avalon finally got to her feet and raced to the edge of the wave, doing a three-sixty turn, coming down the face of the wave in a bottom turn, and going back to the top in a cutback. Each of the moves she did were flawless and the surge of the crowd seemed to spur her on as she continued to do trick after trick. Finally, Avalon focused herself in the center of the wave and leaned forward, pressing her hands to the surfboard and lifted her feet up behind her. She held the pose for a few seconds and moved back to her feet just as the wave closed around her in a barrel.

"Come on," Jason murmured. His brown eyes scanned the water…the wave continued to close…and finally Avalon popped out the other end, still crouching. She stood up, holding her hands above her head as the beach exploded with cheers. "Yes!" Jason cheered loudly along with his friends, going as far as to look at his hands to be sure that his hands weren't glowing, to see if there was any advantage.

Avalon ran out of the water, unstrapping her leach from her ankle as she did so. She threw the board to the ground and accepted the hug her sister gave her, nearly knocked over by the force of their collision. Avalon lifted Bailey off the ground, hugging her tightly. "Awesome job, Av!" Bailey cried, hugging her tightly.

"That was so rad!" Kimberly added as the rangers all gathered around her. She crushed the orange ranger in a tight hug, rocking her back and forth.

"I knew you could do it," Billy added, giving her a hug as well. Avalon hugged him tightly then backed away, addressing her friends.

"Thanks guys," she said, wiping water off the side of her face. "This was seriously…so cool. Your support really helped." Her eyes then shifted behind her friends and she scowled for a long moment before her face cleared and she addressed Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. "And sorry I had to beat your friends out of the qualifiers," she added. The words were apologetic but the budding smile on her face told otherwise.

"You win some you lose some." Adam shrugged.

"And we probably wouldn't have seen anything as good as that if they did get to the finals," Aisha chimed in.

Avalon beamed.

"In a respectable third place we have Rissa Moore. A close second goes to Natty Germaine. And in first place, winning her first competition in Angel Grove; Miss. Avalon Mitchell! Give her a round of applause, everyone!"

Avalon cheered, throwing her hands into the air as the audience erupted into cheers around her. She accepted Kimberly's and Trini's hug and Bailey's and Fred's double high-five before she was lifted on to Jason's and Zack's shoulders and walked over to the podium to take her place. Avalon beamed as she stood up on the top podium and bent her head down to receive the medal that was placed around her neck.

She continued to smile as her friends and Rocky, Adam, and Aisha clapped and cheered for her. No matter the sort of things they were going to face or the trouble she was currently in, at least she finally had something to celebrate.


	13. Three Of A Kind

**Chapter 13**

_Three of a Kind_

* * *

 

"So how're Avalon and Bailey doing now?" Mrs. Oliver asked, pulling back her sat and dropping down at the kitchen table. She took the mug her husband passed to her and allowed it to warm her hands, before she addressed her son once more. "Their mother had come by recently, didn't she? That must've been really hard for them.

"It was really…strange," Tommy agreed.

Leaning back in his seat, he allowed his long hair to flow over the back of the chair, though he was careful not to have it get caught in the bars on the back. He had made that mistake before; it was akin to having a cat pounce on his hair and dig its claws in, tugging his head back as he did so. He thought back to the day Mrs. Mitchell had appeared at the school. Just looking back to see what Avalon's reaction was, he wanted to laugh, seeing how pale she had gotten, but on the other hand, he had immediately been worried. Why would her mother come back all of a sudden? There had to be something going on. He wouldn't put t past Rita and Zedd using some sort of a decoy to lure her out and capture her.

Tommy hadn't been the only one that had the same thought, he could tell from the way Kimberly's grip tightened on her pen, the way Trini started to chew on her lip, the way Jason, Billy, and Zack had all tensed the same way Avalon had when she first heard her name called. Then after having make and excuse that was good enough for all of them to leave, they quickly gathered their books and followed the orange ranger outside to check on her. Who would have thought all of that would have been revealed in front of them?

He had been blindsided by the story, and had even though for a moment that Avalon knew and didn't say anything. Her harsh reaction to it had been a testament that she hadn't. And then knowing that Billy and Trini had known without telling the other rangers had been a slap in the face. He felt that Avalon's rage towards it was justified, though he had been confused as to why it wasn't been evenly distributed through the blue and yellow rangers. Things seemed to have gotten better, however, as Avalon and Bailey had been able to get things off their chests they hadn't had before. The other rangers had gotten the chance to talk to Ellie as well and she was a lovely woman; she was nice and had an air of being very smart. It was no wonder her daughters had missed her so much.

Unfortunately, and his gut feelings were never wrong, he could feel something a little off about her.

"Mrs. Mitchell is a nice person, I talked to her a bit at Bailey's birthday party and she's overcome lot," he explained. "But it was like she was more concerned with getting their trust back a lot sooner than anything else." He ran a hand through his hair. "Like, she showered Bailey with birthday gifts rather than being there to be a mother."

Mrs. Oliver had listened to the explanation quietly. "Well, we don't really know what she was going through," she explained calmly. "This woman had her children ripped away from her and was lied to at the same time. She probably has a lot more that she's going through than the rest of us will ever know." She took a long sip of her coffee as Mr. Oliver sat at the table beside his wife. "It'll probably take some time for things to be normal with them."

"Speaking of 'normal' how's her probation going?" Mr. Oliver asked.

Tommy snorted, giving a half smile. "She doesn't like it," he said. "She doesn't like how she always has to check in with someone before she can do something and says she'd prefer house arrest." He decided to leave out the fact that she was still in the Vipers and doing her best to get out of it, though continued to disappear at a moment's notice to help them out with whatever it was that they needed. It got to the point where before he went to sleep he would check in with Billy or look at the news to be sure there wasn't anything about a break-in or a robbery or that she had been caught.

"Considering she does something to potentially ruin her progress, it wouldn't matter if Mrs. Mitchell wanted to get custody of them again, it wouldn't work," Mr. Oliver said. "And that at point Mr. Mitchell may end up losing custody of them as well and they'd be put into the foster system for adoption."

Tommy's eyebrows rose at the idea. The girls being put up for adoption may make things better, but it may make things worse. Tommy had always known he was adopted and having known it for so long, he believed, was the best way to go. He hadn't wanted to know who his birth parents were, he hadn't had any questions that his own parents now couldn't answer; he knew he was loved in two different ways. His mother had loved him enough to give him a life she knew he would thrive better in, and his parents loved him enough to adopt him and give him that life his birth mother wanted. If he hadn't received that opportunity he wouldn't have had the great friends he had now.

And while he still had nightmares of the green ranger and the things he had done while he was under Rita's spell, they were starting to become few and far between as time went on. Now he had more things to worry about between his classes, school work, martial arts training, and Rita, Goldar, and the Azurite Healiodore.

"So…" Tommy twisted his mouth to the side. "Why did you decide to adopt me?" He asked. "And why haven't you had any other children." He knew the question was a bad one to ask as soon as it came out of his mouth. He noticed the glance his mother and father had exchanged. "Oh…you don't have to tell me…if you don't want—"

"No, Tommy, it's OK," Mr. Oliver interrupted. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "We knew one day you were going to have questions about it, so we've been preparing ourselves just in case." He passed his mug of coffee back and forth in his hands, not stopping to take a sip or to take in the aroma. "Your mother and I had tried…for a long time to be able to have children. But something always got in the way, whether or not there was a bit project at work that needed my attention, or we were moving, things may have been too stressful. We don't know." He licked his lips. "But we've had miscarriages and stillborns, and after a while we decided to check things out. To see what was going wrong."

His voice hitched in his throat and Mrs. Oliver reached out and grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it firmly in his. Mr. Oliver leaned over and gave his wife a kiss on the side of the head. "We went to the doctor and found that we could continue to try and have children, but that there was a good chance it would never go to full term and that we had adoption as an option, if not becoming foster parents." Bringing a hand up, she wiped a tear away from her cheek. "And we didn't like the idea of becoming fosters because you never knew if the birth parents were going to come back or if they were just going to be taken to a new home."

Tommy nodded. It made sense. It explained why his mother had become so overprotective when he was a kid. He had been a bit scrawny and small compared to the other students in his class and was the prime subject for being picked on. The one day he fought back, his mother had practically blown a gasket and was scared for his life. His father, on the other hand, had seen the potential and decided if Tommy was going to fight, it would be better if he had the discipline and understanding of fighting in a controlled environment. And no matter how skilled he had become, his mother still freaked out whenever he came back with a bruise or a busted lip she would freak out.

 _I wonder how she'd feel if she knew I was putting my life in danger for her and Dad every day,_ Tommy thought. He shook his head, briefly scolding himself. _Way to go, Tommy. You don't need the recognition; just knowing that you're trying to keep them safe should be thanks enough._ He nodded, motioning for his mother to continue.

"And then when we thought about adoption, we started to look around and found that you had been born recently and was sitting in the adoption center, waiting for someone to pick you up. At the time, we were going to look anyway, so we saw a few boys and girls, ages from infants to toddler, and when we found you…you didn't look away from us. No matter where we went across the room, you would follow us with your eyes. And we knew then that you were the baby that we wanted. I had a feeling…a gut feeling that you were the one we were destined to have."

 _Destined._ Tommy nodded again. That's what he felt about a lot of things. That this was all destined to happen. He was supposed to be adopted by these people and move to Angel Grove and have a great family and great friends. He was glad his parents felt the same way. "Wow," he said. "I didn't know that."

"I bet you didn't know that you were one of the easiest babies that anyone has ever had to deal with," Mr. Oliver added with a chuckle. "All of my friends were always complimenting us on that. And you always excelled at everything that was thrown your way. We have been and always will be proud of you."

"Thanks guys," Tommy said. He really needed that confidence boost. Things had been going wrong for them lately, in terms of being a ranger. Having been defeated by so many monsters and Goldar underneath his newfound abilities; there was nothing they needed more than to band together and to remind themselves that they should be proud of what they had accomplished together. "You have no idea…how badly I needed to hear that. And, thank you for adopting me. I don't think I've ever said it before, but it means a lot to know that you love me that much to give me a new chance at life. Unconditionally.

"You're welcome," Mrs. Oliver whispered.

Mr. Oliver, not one that enjoyed focusing on his emotions so much, cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs at the knee. He took the now lukewarm coffee to his lips and sniffed it for a moment before speaking again. "So what are your plans for the weekend?"

"I'm going to take Fred and Bailey on one more practice run before Jason and I have them tested on their next level of belts," Tommy said. "They've come a long way and are progressing pretty quickly. They're naturals." Of course Tommy didn't add that he was now training a power ranger to get better at what she as doing, but no one expected Bailey to have become a ranger. To be perfectly honest, Tommy had thought it was going to be Fred. It made the most sense, he was a strong fighter, he took everything Tommy said to heart, he had been there each and every time putties had attacked, and he took everything so seriously.

The only reason he hadn't thought it was Bailey was because she had gone to help out at the Command Center and more often than not didn't interact directly in a fight unless a putty was thrown into the mix, like the day they had all been hanging out at the park.

"Anyway, I have to get going or I'm going to be late." Tommy pushed back his chair and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "I'll get something to eat on the way to the youth center." He started to leave the room then turned back to his parents with a fond smile. "Thanks," he said again. He would have added 'for everything' but knew they understood that's what he was trying to say. His parents nodded back and he turned, disappearing from the room.

Going up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, Tommy burst into his room, grabbing his workout clothes, a towel, a headband, and extra clothes as he went. He shoved them into his bag and took his cell phone and looked through the text messages to see if he had missed any. There was one from Kimberly that asked if he would be free to meet up together after he was done with his workout. Tommy quickly texted back saying he would be glad to, and grabbed his car keys before leaving the room. He called goodbye to his parents once more and hurried out to his car. Climbing in, he buckled up and started the car, peeling out of the driveway and heading towards the youth center.

On the way he couldn't help but think about what his parents had said to him. They loved him so much the first time they looked at him that they knew he was supposed to be their son. They just knew…just like he knew how much he loved Kimberly and to be able to tell her that he did love her, on her birthday, and to have her say it back made him feel…whole. And every time he saw her since then his love for her continued to grow and grow. It was unconditional, something he liked the idea of and was scared of at the same time. Opening himself to something like that had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. To have it be returned…he knew there was nothing that was going to break them apart now.

Tommy stopped at a small drug store before arriving at Ernie's. For a few minutes he sat in the parking lot, trying to drum up the nerve to go inside. He made numerous movements to get out of the car and go inside, but at the last minute he would sit back down. Running his hands over his face he tried to give himself a pep talk.

It was the responsible thing to do.

They didn't want there to be any accidents.

He didn't want to assume things.

It would give them both piece of mind.

Closing his eyes, Tommy rested his head back against the headrest, wondering what Kimberly would have done. An image of her appeared in his head, smiling warmly at him, eyes filled with love and respect for him. It made him smile. He could do this. All he had to do was go in, get the…things…and pay for it and he was on his way. He could do it.

Tommy sucked in a deep breath and clambered out of the car before he could stop himself. If he didn't do it now he never would. And the only thing that kept him going was the unconditional love that the two shared and knowing it was what was going to get them through even the most difficult times.

* * *

 

"Oh come on, Trin, you can't tell me that even after picking you up from your house, even going to the door and seeing your father himself, that he still doesn't like you and Billy together." Kimberly crossed her legs and hugged her pillow to her chest. Avalon was lying on her side next to her on the bed, resting her cheek in her upraised palm. Trini was sitting at the end of the pink ranger's bed, having explained what happened when they had gone to the beach. "I thought your parents really liked him."

"They did," Trini admitted. "Before I started to go out with him."

"That's really messed up, though," Avalon said, scratching the back of her head. "Especially considering the fact that they're not the ones that are dating him. You are." Lowering her hand from her head she pushed her bangs back from her face, twisting the end around her fingers. "But at the same time, they're doing what they think is best for you."

Trini's face screwed up in confusion for a moment. "How did you know that?" She asked the orange ranger. "I only told Kim, specifically, what was going on with me and my parents."

"Apart from the fact that it's not hard to put two and two together?" Avalon questioned. She continued to play with her hair. "Billy told me."

"When did he do that?"

"He—"Avalon suddenly stopped, as if she had just heart something. Reaching down to her pocket she pulled out her phone and looked at the screen. She hadn't gotten a text and her phone hadn't ringed. She pretended that she had gotten something simply because she didn't want to rock the boat. She could feel there was a tiny bit of tension coming from Trini. It wasn't going to help if she had mentioned that she helped Billy through his problems whenever he asked for the help. It certainly wasn't going to make things better if she revealed the times she and Billy had gone to the beach or to the pool and he had made a bubble under the water for the two of them to sit in and talk.

The first time they had done that, the time where she had done her best to help him get over his fear of fish was when she was about to reveal that she had been in a gang and explained everything that had been going on. Instead, she had chickened out and only said something when she was forced to, having collapsed from exhaustion and everything spilled out in front of her.

She changed the subject, sitting up and resting her hands in her lap. "Basically, it freaking sucks," she said. "But at the same time, I understand that you just want your parents to be happy." She tilted her head to the side. "Have you tried actually sitting down and explaining this to them?"

"Yes." The yellow ranger nodded, allowing her hair to fall over her face, hiding the sadness in her eyes. "I've tried, the first time we were going to the beach. That's when they first told me about the arranged marriage." Sitting up, she tucked her hair behind her ear. "They came together in an arranged marriage and they fell in love that way. They want the same for me; they believe it's the best way to go."

"But that's…so old fashioned!" Kimberly practically wailed.

Avalon wiggled her finger in her ear. "Shrieking from Pinkerbell aside—"she smiled when Kimberly elbowed her in the ribs—"I agree. They're in a new place with different rules and social stigmas. Why would they want to limit you on what makes you happy?"

"Because they believe they know what's best for me," Trini said.

She briefly closed her eyes, suddenly feeling ashamed. What had happened to her? She was such a strong person, one that conquered her fears through many different means. She never gave up in a battle as much as possible, knowing when to back off when the time was right. On the other hand, she respected and loved her parents as well as her culture. It was a big part of herself and she was proud to be able to show her culture whenever the chance came up. But this was something that directly had to do with her and her life. She was being split apart even more so than she was used to. "I understand that, but—"

Kimberly must have noticed the discomfort for she sat up straight and leaned forward, clasping Trini's hands between hers. "Trini…sometimes, you have to do something that your parents aren't going to be happy with, because your happiness is more important than theirs are."

"We understand that respecting your parents' wishes is very important in your culture," Avalon added sympathetically. "And while it was ace for them, that doesn't mean that's its ace for you." She shrugged. "You're in charge of your own destiny."

Trini raised her eyes taking in the pink and orange rangers. Kimberly had been her best friend ever since the two of them had met. They did everything together and while they were complete opposites in the things they into, they just meshed. Avalon was the newcomer but as she spent more and more time with the rangers, she started to open herself up more. She and Avalon had their athletics and how strong they were in common and she seemed to be the person that would say whatever it was that people were too afraid to say. It rounded out the three girls, Kimberly was the sweet one, Trini was the voice of reason, and Avalon was the blunt one.

Trini gave an exaggerated sigh, flopping back onto the bed, holding her arms out so her body made the shape of a 'T'. "They always said that being a teenager was hard, but I never thought it was going to be _this_ hard."

"Welcome to my world," Avalon joked. She exchange a glance with Trini then slowly smirked at her. "So why is it that the girl with the biggest head is the one that seems to have a perfectly good family life."

Kimberly made an indignant sound. "I do _not_ have a big head." She shrieked as Avalon shoved her, grabbing onto her covers before she went sprawling off the bed. "What'd you do that for?"

"Weebles wobble but they don't fall down," Avalon shot back.

Trini burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Av!"

"Don't call me—"Avalon cut herself off, holding her hands up, palms out. "You know what? I don't care anymore. It's obvious none of you guys ever listen to me when it comes to that." Her eyes narrowed as Kimberly grabbed a pillow and whacked her upside the head. Without looking away from Trini, Avalon shot out her right hand and pushed Kimberly's shoulder so hard she went flying off her bed and onto the floor. "Betcha you didn't see that one coming, did ya?"

Trini continued to laugh as the pink and orange rangers continued to bicker with each other. Tears streamed down her cheeks, she rested her hands on her stomach, feeling the spasms as they ripped through her stomach muscles. That was what she really needed this, time to hang out with her friends and to leave all of her worries behind. She finally stopped laughing long enough to dab at her eyes, wiping the tears away. Head starting to pound, Trini sat up to relieve the pressure and continued to giggle.

"You guys are so weird," she said.

"Thanks," Avalon joked. "I take pride in that."

"At least someone does," Kimberly teased.

Trini laughed again, sucking in as much as she could. Her sides hurt, but at least for the moment she forgot everything that was going on. Maybe it was better to ignore it, nothing happened unless it was brought up around her parents. They never expressed their disdain unless Billy was mentioned by name or he came to their house, as was noticed the last time he was around. So maybe all she had to do was be sure that they were kept apart, that way everyone was happy.

A buzzing sound filled the air and Avalon looked at her phone for a moment before sliding off the bed, feet first. "Sorry, mate, I gotta get going."

Trini frowned, her good mood instantly gone. "Why don't you stay? Sleep over or something."

"Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun," Kimberly added. "I'm going out with Tommy soon, but I'll be back to sleepover later."

"I think I'll take you up on that," Avalon said. She was bent over, pulling on her boots. "But I really do need to get going. You can't say 'no' to Chase without ending up like this." Standing up, she removed her hair from her face to reveal her bruised cheek. The swelling had gone down considerably, but it was still pretty bad. She assessed Kimberly's and Trini's worried expressions. "Guys, I'm fine. I'm getting out. It's just going to take some time, besides, what with Rita and Zedd's monsters, I've been hit harder than this." She started for the door, and then changed her mind, back peddling away from it. She went over to Trini and grabbed onto her hand. "Sunny,"

"Yeah?" Trini asked.

"Everything's going to be OK."

Avalon gave a gentle smile and let go of Trini's hand. She took a step back and teleported out of the yellow ranger's room in a bright flash of orange light.

* * *

 

Avalon arrived at the warehouse and walked inside. It was the quietest it had ever been since she arrived the first time years before. It seemed like a far off memory now than something that seemed like it had happened the day before. Raising her gaze, Avalon looked around the warehouse. It had used to be a sort of a factory once upon a time as some of the stains on the walls and the wide open areas had proven. Her gaze rising even further, Avalon's eyes moved to the hole in the ceiling. The metal had rusted away due to neglect and quite possibly having been struck by a monster at some point or another.

Shifting to the left, Avalon reached out and grabbed onto the rusting railing of the staircase for a moment. She looked down at her hand as she felt a slight pinch and quickly pulled her hand back. She had cut her hand, but it hadn't done enough that she was going to need a shot. Avalon twisted her mouth to the side then used her enhanced speed to run up the staircase to the rooftop entrance. She gently pushed open the door and found Chase standing on the edge of the building. No, not standing.

He was walking along the edge of the building, holding his arms out to the sides, balancing himself as he did son. In between the fingers of his right hand a cigarette burned its orange tip bright against the dying sunlight. Avalon placed her hands into her jeans shorts pockets as she walked over to him. "Are you gonna jump?" She asked.

"Are you gonna catch me?" Chase shot back.

Avalon shrugged, coming to a stop. "That really depends on whether or not, as a ghost, you would come back to haunt me." She then shrugged, shifting her gaze away from him. "God knows it'd be worse than if you were actually alive, yeah?" Chase didn't respond. He continued to walk along the side of the building. Avalon continued to pace, keeping an eye on him. She was used to this, him going up to the roof and walking around, smoking and contemplating whatever was running through his head. It was a monthly occurrence that nearly scared her to death the first time she had seen it. Skye and Summer had just sat back and watched while Avalon, ridden with anxiety, kept demanding that one of them do something.

She had become desensitized to it as the months and years went on. On many occasions she would find that he had slept on the roof, he said being able to have a view of the city gave him an idea of what the next thing to do was.

Finally, Chase turned to the side and jumped to the ground. He slowly lowered himself down until he was sitting down, resting his arms on his upraised legs. He brought the cigarette back to his mouth but instead of taking a breath, he tapped the unlit end against his lips. "Do you think the High Flyers are trying to double cross me?"

Avalon's eyebrows twitched for a moment. "There's a possibility," she admitted. "Then again, there's the possibility that they're dig what they said they would. We haven't had a need to defend our territory in a while, though you insist on doing so."

Chase glanced at her. "I need to be sure we have what's ours," he explained. "I need time while I try to come up with some other people to join us." He continued to look at her and as the seconds passed it morphed into a leer. "Your sister wouldn't be—"

"We made a deal!" Avalon's hands clenched into fists. "I'd do what you want, you'd leave my sister alone, and you get rid of me when you don't need me anymore."

With those words Chase swiftly brought his hand from his pocket and aimed a pistol at her. If he moved it a fraction to the left, he would hit her right in the heart. And while he wasn't in a completely sane mindset, she could tell as his eyes were unfocused—he had probably gotten high before she arrived—he was a good marksman.

"So what's stopping me from taking you out now?"

Avalon paused. "What stopped you before?"

She knew the answer to that question, she had always been aware of it. It wasn't just the loyalty she had shown for the gang that had him trust her. But she was the only one of his other members he trusted the most. It could have been in a sort of Stockholm syndrome sort of way, as they were the only ones she had to lean on when she and Bailey had been on the streets of Angel Grove. The others had gone right to him; he had found her and recruited her. Or maybe it was the time they had dated where he had shown a different part to her that no one else had seen.

"Good point." Chase put the gun back into his pocket and took a long drag of it. "Gooood point." He pointed at her. "If you leave—"

"—when I leave—"

"—if you leave, I want my gun back," he said.

"You can have it," Avalon insisted. "And every other weapon you've ever given me. At this point I don't see why I'm still the one that has to hold onto all of your guys' crap." She walked over and sat down on the railing next to him. Straddling it, she looked over the twinkling lights of Angel Grove. She wondered what her sister was doing at that moment. Hopefully doing something she enjoyed.

"Because you're a fringe," Chase murmured.

That word bothered her more now than ever before. This time, however, it wasn't because she was tired of being thought of someone that was going to leave them high and dry. It was because she knew that's what she was.

A fringe, a gang member that hasn't made a commitment to the criminal life.

"And because out of everyone here, you're the one that hasn't kissed my ass all the time," Chase continued.

"I thought you liked that?" Avalon pointed out. She swung her body back over the side and leaned forward, hunching over herself. She angled her head down, covering her face with her hair as she looked at her power morpher. A smile immediately graced her lips. She was glad Chase couldn't see or else he would start to question her. "Summer seems to think so."

"Summer is good for more than kissing ass," Chase responded. Avalon rolled her eyes. "All of you guys are. That's the point. We're all a family in a way. A fucking dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless." He glanced at her, noticing the way she was hunched over. "Are you cold?" He moved to take off his leather jacket.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Are you OK?"

"Physically? Sure. Mentally, I don't know anymore." Chase snickered. "There's only so long you can self medicate until you actually start to realize that things aren't really OK, right?" He took another long drag of his cigarette, blowing out the large, billowy cloud, watching it dissipate. "Thanks for caring."

The softness of his tone threw her off for a second. She hadn't seen that side of him in a long time. It was nice to see. "You're welcome, Chase." In a weird way, she meant it.

Unbeknownst to the two, Summer stood behind the door to the roof, watching intently.

* * *

 

"It's only a matter of time, Zeddy," Rita said in a wistful sigh. Her left hand tightened the grip on the telescope. Her right hand held her wand, the red orb starting to glow and crackle with red lightning.

"Excellent," Zedd growled…


	14. Things Unseen

**Chapter 14**

_Things Unseen_

* * *

"Good morning," Billy greeted cheerfully as he walked into the kitchen to find his parents, Avalon, and Bailey already sitting at the breakfast table, passing around plates and filling up their glasses with orange juice, milk, and coffee.

"Hey Billy," Bailey replied.

"You slept longer than usual," Avalon commented, leaning back so that her chair rested on the back two legs. "Most times you're out of bed before me."

"Yeah, I was up late working on my latest experiment," Billy replied with an air of modesty. He sat down in his seat, taking the plate that his mother handed to him. Picking up his fork, he sliced into a piece of quiche and made a sound of his approval before taking another bite. "Hopefully it'll be something that—"he suddenly broke off, his face paling slightly as he looked at the orange and purple rangers. "—will be very beneficial to those that need it when the time is right."

"So what sort of experiment is it, Billy?" David asked his son, looking at him curiously over the top of his glasses. "You're always barricading yourself in the garage as it is and we never get a chance to see what you have to show for it."

Lacey reached out and grabbed onto her husband's wrist, angling her head over towards the basement door where a contraption sat atop the door, easily fitting into the door frame. "You're forgetting the automatic door closer and the water purifier for the sink."

"I just need to patent them and find someone who would be willing to buy those products and I'm sure it'll make life a lot easier for people are we move on towards the new millennium," Billy defended himself.

Bailey's eyebrows furrowed together. "The new millennium isn't for another six years, Billy."

"You never know."

Avalon made a snorting sound. She pushed her plate of untouched food away from her, leaning forward and resting her arms on the table. "Do you have any sort of invention that can get people to stop having nightmares?" Using both of her hands, she pushed her hair out of her face.

Concerned, Lacey leaned forward and rested a hand on Avalon's head, gently massaging her hair. "Have you been having nightmares, sweetie?" Avalon gently flinched at the endearing name, but didn't move away from her hand. "I'm sure all of the stress of your mother coming back and what happened with those thugs that you were entangled with didn't help you much. Especially considering the fact that you don't really like to talk about it."

"There's a reason for that," Avalon murmured.

"How long have you been having nightmares about it?" David questioned.

"Long enough," Bailey said. She continued to eat her breakfast as if it was normal conversation. She gave her sister a meaningful glance. "I get woken up from it every now and then, because I can hear her whimpering." It had been more than that on numerous occasions. Bailey could hear her sister on the verge of screaming and would quickly wake up and comfort her until she fell asleep again. It was jarring in a way, as much as Bailey would like to have times where she could reciprocate all the times Avalon had saved her and protected her, Bailey wasn't used to having to cuddle her big sister to get her to stop crying. She had never seen her so vulnerable before, only doing so behind closed doors.

When they were back in their own apartment, Avalon had done everything she could be sure that Bailey wasn't hurt and had everything she needed to continue to live a relatively normal life. Now that she was able to do the same, it was surreal. She was glad that Avalon was finally able to admit that she needed help now, which was more than she could say months, if not years, before.

Avalon suddenly sat up straight, looking annoyed. "I'm fine," she said stubbornly. "I've just had a few bad dreams here and there it happens." She picked up her fork and viciously stabbed at the eggs that piled up in the corner. "Can we _please_ talk about something else?"

"If you've been having nightmares then there's a good chance that Mom is right when she says that there's stress and natural PTSD involved," Billy said gently. Avalon merely glanced at him a slight glare still in her eyes. "Maybe you should talk to someone."

"I talk to you, Smurf," Avalon pointed out. Billy smiled. "And I talk to my parole officer, and I talk to the others, I don't think anyone else needs to talk to me." She rested her cheek in her hand and continued to poke at the food on her plate.

David cleared his throat and looked over at his wife, who appeared just as helpless as he did. As much as they would have liked to help, they weren't sure what to do other than be supportive. As Avalon and Bailey aren't their children, they couldn't force her to go talk to someone to get things cleared up. As it was, she was already doing her best to lie low, after having admitted to several crimes as well as being checked on by a probation officer every now and then, when not doing community service. The least they could do at this point was be as supportive as possible as it appeared it was the only thing that was helping her at the moment.

"So what are you plans for today?" David changed the subject. "It's a beautiful day and I'd hate it if you were cooped up inside."

"I was going to over to Zack's place," Avalon said. She continued to poke at her plate, sliding a tiny bite of food into her mouth. "He said he'd help me practice for the track team and everything, since we have our first race coming up soon." Looking over, she exchanged a glance with Billy. Of course they knew it was harder for her to be able and try out for that specific sports team, having the ability to run at top speeds that no human was normally capable of was sure to make things difficult for her.

"What about you, Billy?" Lacey asked.

Billy brought hand up to cover his mouth as he quickly swallowed a bit of food. Looking away from his mother he busied himself, preparing another bite. "Trini and I were going to hang out later today," he said. "But I guess I'll head over to Zack's and Jason's place as well. There may be some things we need to talk about."

"Or you want to be sure her parents don't find out you're going to be spending time with her," Bailey contradicted.

Billy shrugged.

"It's such a shame that they don't think you two should be together," Lacey said with a shake of her head. "I remember when you were little and she would sit and play with you, listening as you went on about bugs and the earth for hours and hours. It was so cute."

"You mean he did that back then too?" Avalon asked with a malicious smile.

Billy frowned and balled up a napkin, throwing it at her as she and her sister laughed. The three rangers finished their breakfast then headed up to their rooms to get dressed so that they could go to Zack's house. Avalon went into her room and quickly changed from her pajamas into her clothes. As she brought her foot up to tie her shoe laces, her eyes drifted across the room to the leather jacket that lay on her desk chair. It had been there ever since she and Bailey moved in, she hadn't touched it since. It represented too many bad things; it was one of the symbols of status when you were in the Vipers. If you got that leather jacket, you were considered a part of it; it was what identified them, as the letterman jackets identified the High-Flyers.

After getting out of the hospital, Avalon couldn't bring herself to war it again and while none of the Vipers had said anything about it, she knew it was noticed. It would have made sense for the way that Summer had been treating her. If it weren't for the fact that she was petty as well as a sore loser, being the two personality flaws that damaged her otherwise strong minded personality that she had before. With a sigh, Avalon glanced down at the inside of her wrist, where she had gotten the tattoo that signified her loyalty to the gang. She knew it was a mistake now, but everyone learned from their mistakes.

Besides, she had always thoughts about getting another tattoo at some point.

"Av, you coming?" Bailey was standing by the bedroom door; hand on the knob, watching her sister.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Standing up, Avalon snatched the orange flannel shirt off the end of her bed and tied it around her waist. Bailey nodded and slipped from the doorway. Avalon took her wallet as well and walked out of the room after her sister. Hearing the sound of a door opening, the orange ranger looked up as the bathroom door opened allow a mountain of steam to escape into the hallway. Billy stepped out onto the carpet, a towel around his waist and drying his hair. She followed a water droplet curved down his chest from his neck, across his stomach.

He must have noticed, if not sensed, that Avalon was looking at him, as he turned to face her. His hands stilled on the towel over his hair and he locked her gaze for a long moment before giving a small smile. "What?"

"Nothing," Avalon said. She shrugged. "You were just in the shower so long it seemed like you needed a lifeguard at some point." She turned and moved to go downstairs, but walked right into the edge of the banister. Her face flushed in embarrassment as a grunt came out of her mouth. "Son of a bitch," she murmured, taking a step back. Ignoring Billy's laughter, she rubbed her stomach, going downstairs.

"What's so funny?" Bailey asked from the living room. She peered at her sister. "And why's your face so red?"

Avalon with one hand on her stomach waved the other to wave off her sister's questions. Flopping down onto the couch she crossed her legs, resting them on the coffee table in front of her. She started to look around for Steggy, used to seeing her crawling around the couch or following her around. Then she remembered that she had regained control of using her as a zord. And it had only been possible because of the power of one of Rita's and Zedd's monsters. It had, technically, proven Bailey's theory right, that they just needed some of their magic to turn her back to normal size. But why had it taken so long and how was she the one that was holding her back from doing so?

"Uh, Av?"

Avalon glanced at her sister and Bailey pointed back at the coffee table. Looking down, Avalon noticed that it had started to smoke around her feet. She let out a cry of surprise and quickly removed her feet, waving the smoke away and blowing at it frantically.

"We really need to figure out this Power Cube thing works," Bailey said. She rubbed her chin, glancing at her sister. "And what it means for each of you guys that have the powers from it already. Because it seems like yours is controlled by your emotions. Mostly anger from what I've seen." She reached out a hand and waved it through the smoke as well. "And what it means for you having the power of two rangers."

"Well that was already proven because of this." Avalon got off the couch and turned around. Bending down, she grabbed the piece of furniture in her hands and lifted it above her head as if it was a feather. She placed it back on the ground and then suddenly appeared behind it, having used her speed. "But I get what you mean about the Power Cube."

"Billy and Trini said that you were exposed to prototype power ranger powers from Dad, right?" Bailey asked.

"Yeah."

"So that, obviously, has enhanced the things a normal human can do. But maybe the excess power has broken itself down into elements which is why each of you guys have a different one."

"It would make sense," Avalon admitted.

"But there are still a lot of things that it _doesn't_ explain," Bailey reminded her. She smiled warmly at her sister. "So don't be surprised if you wake up finding yourself strapped to a metal board with electrodes all over your head, arms and legs." She giggled as Avalon rolled her eyes. "And try not to fry anything with your mojo while we wait for those results."

"Then tell people to stop bothering me," Avalon shot back. She turned to address the blue ranger as he walked into the room, moving a brown belt through the loops of his jeans. "Are you ready to go?"

"Affirmative," Billy agreed.

The three rangers left the house and started to walk to the Taylor's house. They moved along in a comfortable silence, each ranger preoccupied with their own thoughts. Avalon tilted her head back and looked at the sky as she went. Everything was so peaceful for the time being. She knew she couldn't expect things to stay that way, whether or not it was a monster attack or something else in her life that went bad, it was like a dark shadow following her. She couldn't shake it and it wasn't going to go away.

"Are you OK?" Billy nudged her shoulder, getting her attention. "You've been in your mind a lot lately, Ava."

"I'm fine, Smurf," Avalon said. Though she didn't quite believe it herself, it was at least convincing enough for relief to move across his face. "It's just a lot of things going on lately; sometimes I wonder if I'm cursed."

"There is that possibility," Billy admitted. "Who knows what Rita and Zedd may have done while we've had our backs turned or while we were too preoccupied with something else?" He reached into the backpack that hung off one shoulder and pulled out what looked like a scanner.

"Do you carry that thing with you all the time?" Bailey asked, noticing it herself.

A little embarrassed, Billy shrugged. "You never know when you're going to need a body scanner."

Avalon pushed it away from her. "That's not like an X-Ray is it?" She eyed him warily.

"No, it's not an X-Ray," Billy denied. "I've thought of that capability the first time I thought up the blueprints for it, however privacy is what many people take as a privilege." He gave a sheepish smile. "And Kim really told me off the first time I had tried it out on her and she thought the same thing."

"Sounds like her," Bailey agreed. She took the scanner and looked it over for a few minutes. Once she was done examining it, she handed it back to the blue ranger. "Looks like something that should be easy to replicate and you never know when another one is going to be needed." She gave it back to Billy. "Could I please borrow it so I can see if it is a something I can do?"

"Sure." Billy then held the scanner out to the orange ranger and slowly moved it up and down the front of her body, focusing hard on the small screen on its front. "There doesn't appear to be anything that would show that Rita and Zedd have placed something on you."

"Great." Avalon gave a fake smile as she crossed her arms and started walking again. "So I just bring bad luck. Maybe I'm a jinx."

"It would explain why _my_ life sucks," Bailey teased.

Avalon cuffed her on the back of the head.

"Even if you were jinxed, that doesn't mean that things really are bad right now," Billy pointed out. "No matter what happens, we'll help you out. Whether fighting a monster or you just need support for something, we're always here for you."

"Thanks Smurf, that means a lot."

"Hey! Quit blocking the sidewalk, other people have to get by!"

"Yeah, don't make us write you a ticket."

Billy, Bailey, and Avalon all turned to find Bulk and Skull meandering their way up the sidewalk towards the rangers. They didn't look as imposing as they ever did while at Angel Grove High, but there was something different about them that was evident. An air of confidence and smug that had never been there before.

"It's a public sidewalk, Bulk," Billy pointed out. "We can be wherever we want."

"Not when it's obstructing justice!" Bulk declared. With a flourish, he pulled papers out of his pocket and shoved them into the blue ranger's face. "Next time you want to talk back to the law, make sure you know who you're talking to."

"Talk about to the law?" Billy repeated. He glanced at the orange ranger, who had befriended Bulk and Skull the first few days she had been at Angel Grove High.

Waving a hand towards the former bullies Avalon replied, "Bulk and Skull dropped out of school." If Billy was surprised, he didn't show it. "And they figured the best thing they could do now was go into a junior police academy." She took a step towards her friends. "I haven't seen you blokes in a while, did you get in?"

"We're going to apply soon," Skull denied. He reached out and jabbed the piece of paper Bulk continued to elevate in front of them. "Right now we're going to be tested by a Lieutenant Stone to see how well we'd do and if we really will be accepted into the program."

"Impressive," Avalon agreed. She brushed her hair out of her face. "Let me know how things go." She smirked at them. "God knows you lot are going to screw this up, too."

Bulk scowled, lowering the paper. Skull laughed loudly at her jab until Bulk smacked him on the back of the head. The larger of the comedic duo rubbed a finger across his nose, sniffing loudly, training his eyes on Avalon. "It's better than hanging out with these dweebs all the time."

Billy rolled his eyes. "After all this time you still can't come up with anything other than dweebs?" Bulk started towards him, but Avalon threw out her arm, pushing him backwards so that he stood next to Skull once more.

"They're not dweebs," she said calmly. "And for the record, neither are you." She looked at her watch. "I have to get going, but seriously, guys, tell me how you do. Either way I'll buy you lunch, I think I owe you from one time when you were still going to school."

"Finally, a lunch we don't have to work for!" Skull declared, eyes lighting up. "No threats, no stealing, no tricks. We just get to go and eat." He whacked Bulk hard not he shoulder. "What could be better than that?"

"Figuring out the identity of the rangers," Bulk reminded him. He leaned over towards his best friend and lowered his voice. "Which is why we're doing this in the first place," he murmured then gave a goofy smile. "Other than the girls."

"Oh right! Girls!"

Avalon laughed. "Ok, I'll see you guys later." She lifted her hand in a wave towards them and turned on her heel, going down the street once more. Billy and Bailey fell into step with her.

"How are you friends with them?" Billy asked.

Avalon grinned. "How are you not?" She brushed her hair over her shoulders. "Besides, they're good for a laugh."

"And I'm not?" Billy frowned.

"No…you're just funny looking."

"Hey!"

* * *

 

Jason nodded in approval as Zack took a few steps back and did a back flip before launching himself into a high-intensity dance routine. With the fancy footwork propelling him back and forth across the floor of his garage, Zack continued to fly along with the up-tempo music, a large smile on his face. There was no doubt that it was the only thing he would rather be doing when not saving the world.

"Ha ha!" Zack raised his hands above his head in a victorious stance as the music continued. "I finally got that move down!"

"And it looked good, man," Jason agreed. He sat straddling a weight lifting bench, a sixty pound dumbbell resting on the bench in front of him. Picking it up in his right hand, he slowly started to pump his arm up and down, watching his muscles bulge as he did so. "You've really been practicing it haven't you?"

"Yeah." Zack slapped his fist into his palm. "Well, I know that Dad wants me to focus on football and everything, but dancing is my life, man. I can't just give it up." He pointed down at his feet as they continued to shuffle back and forth. The red and black rangers laughed. "Y'see? I can't stop moving my feet! I always have to be dancing or something, I can't sit still!"

"I could have told you that, Twinkle-Toes," Jason replied. "You were always getting in trouble in class for being unable to sit still."

"Look who's talking, Rudolph!" Zack shot back. " _I_ wasn't the one that got in trouble for 'being too strong' to play with at recess."

Jason laughed, rolling his eyes. Who would have thought that his training in martial arts as well as his athleticism in general made it hard for him to have people that were willing to play games with him? Some complained that he played too rough; others said it wasn't fair as he was too strong or too fast or didn't play right. It wasn't until he had met Zack that he finally found someone willing to play with him and didn't care whether or not he won or lost at whatever game they were playing. Kimberly, Trini, and Billy had fallen into their group fairly easily, and didn't mind losing every now and then as they continued to play with each other .They also taught Jason that winning wasn't everything.

 _It's everything now,_ Jason thought, focusing on his lifting weights. _I can't lose again._ Losing in sparring matches was fine, he wouldn't allow himself to lose in competitions, not when he was fighting against Rita's and Zedd's monsters, not when it was a random person picking a fight. _Not again._ Jason gritted his teeth together, tightening his grip on the dumbbell. He still couldn't believe the High-Flyers had beaten him so easily.

He still remembered the way they had gathered around him and blindsided him with a punch to the face. Next thing he knew, he was being held down and punched and kicked all over. No matter how hard he fought back, even managing to regain the upper hand a times, he was easily shot back down with a blow to his arm, leg or stomach. The excruciating pain coming from the brass knuckles and chains that had been wrapped around the hands of the High-Flyers. He couldn't bear the humiliation of having been left for dead. Everyone knew he was a talented martial artist. And to have been brought into the hospital like that?

It wasn't going to happen again.

"Jase, man, why don't you take a break from that and blow off some steam," Zack suggested.

Jason lowered the dumbbell to the bench and smiled at Zack. "I hope you don't want me to start dancing," he said. "You know I'm terrible at it." Zack waved a hand at him, making a sound of disbelief. "I'm serious, man; I'm not a good dancer."

"Everyone's good at dancing, it's just finding your rhythm," Zack argued. The black ranger went over t to the red ranger and grabbed his arm, lifting him to his feet. "And I've seen you dance before, you're pretty good." He placed his hands on his chest. "Not as good as me, of course, but still good." He laughed as Jason reached out and shoved him back across the garage floor. Zack used that momentum to start up a series of fancy footwork, snapping his arms and legs at the time needed. "See? Just get your groove going."

Jason tilted his head back and looked at the ceiling for a moment, letting out a long breath through his nose then smiled at his best friend. He rubbed the back of his neck, slowly shuffling forward then started to dance along with his best friend. He wasn't a great dancer by any means, but he was smooth enough not to make a complete fool of himself. The music continued to blast throughout the garage as the two rangers danced along with the music.

"What are you doing?"

With a startled cry, Jason stumbled backwards, falling over the weight lifting bench and falling to his back. Zack let out a cry at the same time, though he had just whirled around to face the orange, purple, and blue rangers as they walked through the opening of the garage. Bailey was giggling to herself while Billy and Avalon were doing their best not to burst out into hysterical laughter.

"I thought I was going to get some lessons in running, not a show," Avalon said. She walked over to Jason and held out her hand towards his, smiling, her freckled nose wrinkling as she did so. His eyes shifted to the side silently contemplating whether or not he should continue to lie on the ground, then reached up his hand and grabbed onto hers. With a simple tug, Avalon pulled Jason to his feet so fast he almost fell over again. Taking a step back, the orange ranger tilted her head to the side as she studied him. "Have you ever thought of joining the Chippendales?"

"Funny, Avie. Real funny." Jason ran a hand through his hair. "We were just…hanging out."

"I can see that, mate."

"Zack, you said that you were going to help Avalon with her running?" Bailey asked the black ranger, pulling a video camera out from the bag that was strapped to her side. "Do you mind if I tape it? I want to see if there's a difference in the form of her running." She wiggled the camera back and forth. "Especially if there's a difference in her using her enhanced speed or not."

"I don't see why not," Zack agreed. "Besides, that might be something we really need to check out," he added. "Who knows how much longer it's possible for her to use it. If there is some sort of a cap on that power we need to find out soon."

"Especially if it runs out during the middle of a battle," Billy agreed.

Avalon's eyebrows furrowed together. That made no sense. Why would some of her powers drain away? Sure, they're experimentally tested from the powers her father had been trying to create, but if the ones that she was destined to have, the stegosaurus powers, didn't run out. How could the experimental ones do the same? It seemed to work the same way. What would happen if she suddenly demorphed while fighting a monster? She would be exposed to all sorts of attacks and—

 _No!_ She quickly shook her head. She couldn't think like that.

"Thanks for the visual," Jason muttered, suddenly agitated. He brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose as a sudden, sharp pain coursed through his head. He turned to Zack, holding up a thumb and pointing it towards the house. "D'you mind if I use the bathroom real fast?"

With a funny smile on his face, Zack placed a hand on Jason's shoulder. "Dude, if you gotta go, you gotta go."

Jason laughed and flipped Zack off before leaving the garage and slipping into the house. Closing the door behind him, he looked around; making sure no one was watching him as he went to the bathroom. Once inside, he turned on the light and went over to the sink. Filling up a glass of water, he placed it on the edge of the sink then pulled a couple of pills out from his pocket. Staring down at them, he juggled them in his hand for a moment then moved to swallow them but a knock at the door made him jump, dropping them to the floor.

"Jason, are you coming?" Bailey called, still knocking. "We're about to test Avalon's speed."

"I'll be there in a minute," Jason called back. He fell to his knees, looking for the pills. "Damn," he muttered, frantically scanning the floor for the pills. _Shit_. He could hear the door open before Bailey's innocent voice asked him again if he was OK. "I'm fine," he said. "I just…dropped something."

Bailey fell to her knees and started to dust her hands over the floor. "I can help you look." Jason started to protest, gently pushing her hands away. But he was too late. "I found it!" Bailey picked up a pill in her hand and started to hand it out to the red ranger, then stopped when she got a good look at it. Raising it to her face, Bailey's dark eyes moved over the pill the widened in recognition.

Defeated, Jason closed his eyes, sitting back on his heels. "Bay, it's not what you think—"

"Jason, these are steroids!" Bailey interrupted him.

 _Ok, so it's exactly what you think,_ Jason thought. He forced himself to smile, hoping to downplay the situation. "It's just something my Dad gave me to help bulk up for martial arts," she said calmly. "It's nothing. I've been taken them on and off." He reached out for the pills and Bailey pulled her hands away. When Jason's eyes locked with hers, he was surprised to find an intense glare resting on her otherwise sweet face.

"Don't fucking treat me like I'm stupid, Jason," She snapped. Jason's eyes widened. He licked his lips as he listened to her. "I _know_ what steroids do and the long lasting effects of them." She shook her first. "How long have you been taking these?"

Before Jason could answer, their communicators went off.

 _Saved by the bell._ Gratefully, Jason moved his communicator to his mouth. "Yeah, Zordon, what is it?"

"Get to the Command Center, immediately," was the gruff response.

Jason blinked as he dropped his arm. Was it his imagination or did their mentor sound angrier than he had ever been before. He looked over at Bailey, who hesitated for a moment, then brought her communicator to her face and pressed a button, teleporting in a beam of purple light. Jason did the same and teleported to the Command Center. He arrived only second before Tommy, Zack, Billy, Kimberly, Trini and Avalon arrived as well. Their questions overlapped each other as they walked over towards Alpha and Zordon. Jason could feel Zordon's eyes on him, looking up, his suspicions were confirmed.

"What's going on?" Kimberly asked.

"The sensors don't indicate that there is a threat of a monster," Billy added. He was crouching over a control panel, glancing at the readings. "Or of Rita and Zedd?" He turned back to face his mentor, concern clouding over his face.

"It's not worse than that is it?" Avalon asked.

"Rangers, I have some very saddening news," Zordon said. He cleared his throat. "When I first recruited you all as rangers, I had seen different parts of each and every one of you that would become the ones to take the power rangers power." He looked at Avalon. "Though we had our doubts at times, you have proven that you're the ones that was needed to save the world."

"OK…" Kimberly tilted her head to the side. "Then, like, why are we here?"

"The rangers I've commanded before…" Zordon briefly closed his eyes. "The rangers I've commanded before have never been human. They are morphological beings if not what you would consider aliens from different planets. During my fight with Rita I have recruited many different teams of rangers that have fought for my cause. You are the first case of human rangers that I have used and while I believe it is the better sort of power I would need there are some ramifications that I'm sure will have adverse affects I never intended."

"But Zordon," Alpha protested. "When you first asked me, you wanted me to bring you the most _overbearing_ and over-emotional humans when Rita first got out of her Space Dumpster."

"Hey!" Avalon, Trini, and Kimberly all cried in unison.

Zordon ignored the three female rangers and continued with his speech. "Humans have outside sources that affect them on a daily basis that I have never naturally intended. Having watched the Earth as long s I have for the past two years I am afraid that there are some things that will become so adverse that I don't know what will happen and can't risk something going wrong when it is combined with the powers you have been given as well as with the heat of battle."

"What are you talking about, Zordon?" Trini asked desperately.

Jason looked at his feet. He knew what Zordon meant. It was no mistake that the moment Bailey found out about his steroid use that Zordon would have teleported them all to the Command Center when there was no monster attack. He wondered just how long Zordon and Alpha had been wondering about the drugs, if they knew what it was. He then flashed back to when he had forcibly made sure he could do homework in the Command Center after his father had asked him about his missing steroids. He hung his head in shame.

"I know," Jason said quietly. He cleared his throat and lifted his head, looking at Bailey. "I….I…uh….I know what they're talking about."

"What's going on, man?" Tommy asked. "We're your friends, you can tell us."

Jason swallowed hard, his throat felt like he had a billiard ball stuck in his throat, Impossible to move. "Ever since….I got jumped by the High Flyers….I've been taking…some steroids." As soon as the last word was out of his mouth, he could hear the cries of shock from his friends.

"Are you kidding?!" Zack demanded. "Don't you know how dangerous that is?" Jason nodded but didn't reply. "Man! How could you?!"

"That explains a lot," Avalon murmured. When all eyes turned to her she raised and lowered her right shoulder in a shrug, skillfully avoiding Jason's gaze. "The leader of the Vipers, Dusty, before he left to start up a new clique in another state, he used to be on steroids. There were a lot of signs that he showed…I thought I was just imagining things. I didn't say anything."

_"Hey Rudolph, I know you're upset that the others wouldn't let you join in their reindeer games, but you need to lay off the bodybuilding You're giving a new definition to the term meat-head."_

_"So are your pecs, Rudolph. I think I see some man boobs coming on, mate."_

Jason suddenly realized that she had known there was something wrong with him. As did the other rangers. There had been little comments here or there that proved it and yet he continued to take the drugs, knowing he was getting stronger. But was it so bad? He was getting stronger for them! To prove that he could protect them and that he was an essential part of the team!

"So what does it mean for Jason?" Billy asked. "Zordon is right when he says we don't know how steroid use or drug use or alcoholism would interact with the powers we were given. Especially under times of high stress." He waved a hand. "For all we know, he could get ready to use the Power Sword and the power would blow us up or something. It's in our DNA as well as absorbing a drug is." He took a deep breath. "As much as I hate to say this, I don't think we can chance it until it's completely out of Jason's system."

"No!" Kimberly protested.

"There has to be some other way," Tommy added. He turned back to Zordon. "Zordon, Alpha, what do you think?"

Alpha slowly waved his arms. "I'm afraid Billy's right," he said. "We'll need t take back his morpher and power coin as we don't know what will happen if it continues to be near his DNA."

Jason swallowed thickly. Getting his morpher and coin taken away was the worst part. What would happen if there was a monster attack? He'd be leaving his friends vulnerable. What would happen to him? He had the power on him for so long, he had gotten used to having it with him. Would that mean he wouldn't be as strong? Not as worthy? Alpha walked over to him and held out his hand. Jason took off his power morpher and handed it to him.

"What are we going to do?" Trini asked. "Rita and Zedd and Goldar still have the Healiodore. What if they attack again?"

"We're going to give the morpher, coin, and power of the T-Rex to Avalon for the time being," Zordon said. Alpha walked over and handed it to the mystified orange ranger, who looked like she was about to puke. "With having the power of two rangers—"

"We tried before," Kimberly protested. "And it didn't work. It nearly knocked her out from the power overload!"

"Yeah, do you think it's worth trying again?" Bailey asked. Her vice quivered.

"We need all the help we can get," Zordon insisted. "Now that we have to wait for Jason to return….we have no other choice." He looked grimly down at the orange ranger.

Alpha turned to face her. "Do you think you could do it?"

Avalon continued to hold Jason's Power Morpher in her hand, looking over at Jason. He looked back at her and tried to muster a warm smile; the warm reached his eyes, but didn't quite reach the movement of his mouth. "I can try," she finally said.

Jason would want her to.

* * *

 

Zordon watched as the rangers teleported from the Command Center. On the viewing globe he saw Jason teleport to the Youth Center, landing outside. The orange ranger walked inside and went over to the workout area, where it was littered with punching bags, training mats, gymnastic beams, weights, weight machines, and everything that would get someone in shape. He stared at it for a long time before walking over to the juice bar area and flopping down in a chair, resting his face in his hands.

"I know it was a hard thing to do, Zordon," Alpha said to him.

"Harder than I thought," Zordon agreed.

He had never thought he would become attached to the rangers when they first met. It was war for him; he had people he needed to help him to defeat one of the biggest beings of evil. But they had all grown on him in many different ways. At the beginning he had been hesitant about their power, just as he had been about Avalon—though that was for a different reason—and they had all surprised him with the dedication they put into saving Angel Grove.

"Do you want to go talk to him?" Alpha asked. Zordon nodded. Alpha walked over to a control panel and pushed a few buttons. When he was done, he lifted his head and watched as the Power Tube glowed a bright white light. The light then broke away from the tube and shifted down to the ground where, when the light faded, Ernie was standing. Alpha walked over to Ernie and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Remember Zordon, your fragmented self can't stay out for too long."

Alpha remembered the first time Zordon had suggested using a part of himself to be used as a way to find the rangers that would help them. The first time he had gone down to the Youth Center as Ernie, he found talking to teenagers and interacting with them to be easier than he anticipated. Then he had gotten to know the original five rangers throughout, quickly understanding they were the ones he and Alpha were looking for when the time came. That's how Kimberly, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Jason had been chosen right from the beginning. He had been watching them long enough to know they were perfect for the job and he had been right. He was so right that he continued to watch them even after their job had been done to find the originals, finding Avalon in a similar way.

"I remember," Ernie and Zordon replied at the same time. "I won't be long.

Ernie teleported in a flash of white light and landed in the back room of the Youth Center. He picked up a box of fresh fruit and walked out to the front. Jason was still sitting at the table, face in his hands. Clearing his throat, he got the red ranger's attention. "Why the long face?"

"Oh." Jason lifted his head. "Hey Ernie," he said. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Well, how about a passion fruit smoothie, on the house," Ernie suggested.

"That'd be great, actually."


	15. The Plan Revealed

**Chapter 15**

_The Plan Revealed_

* * *

 

Avalon sighed as Zack pulled his car up to the front of the Angel Grove Police Department. The last thing she wanted to do was go and see her probation officer. Not after what had just happened.

The weight of Jason's Power morpher and coin resting on her belt was something she was definitely not used to. She didn't even know if it was possible for her to be able to use it. It wasn't part of her DNA, she wasn't destined to have the power of the tyrannosaurus, and she was destined for the stegosaurus.

What happened if she tried to use the morpher in battle and she demorphed and lost all her energy, the same way she had tried it with the Ankylosaurus?

"Don't worry, Kid," Zack said from the driver's seat as he parked the car. He ruffled Avalon's hair, causing her to smile a little. "We'll figure things out."

"Yeah? And what about Jay?" She replied. She kept her gaze, eyebrows lowered, and an intense frown on her face, out the front window. "Not having him as a ranger…?"

"He's still a ranger; he's just currently out of commission. Once a ranger, always a ranger," Zack reminded her. Avalon made a humming sound. "What we have to worry about is that he's getting better," Zack pointed out. He drummed his hands on the steering wheel. "I can't believe he was taking steroids."

"I kinda can," Bailey spoke up from the backseat. "I mean, he takes martial arts so seriously and it's something he really believes in. Being beaten by a bunch of guys with no training simply because there were too many of him to fight off must have been damaging to his ego."

"Especially since he's excelled so much with martial arts," Zack added. He turned back to the orange ranger and a smile slowly stretched across his face. "You seem really worried."

Avalon, easily noticing what the black ranger was insinuating, gave him the finger and Zack started laughing. "I'm worried about everything nowadays. I'm surprised my hair hasn't fallen out."

"God forbid," Bailey said. She pointed at her sister. "She thinks her hair is her best quality. It's the only thing that makes up for her lack of height."

Zack laughed.

"Both of you fucking suck." Avalon grabbed the door handle and practically kicked it open to get out of the car. Turning, she picked up the bag that rested at her feet. She leant back into the car so she could address Zack once more. "You mind taking Bay wherever she needs to go?"

"Actually, I was hoping to still study you, Zack," Bailey interrupted. She pushed her glasses up her nose. "I want to compare your running style to Av's."

Zack shrugged and reached back, ruffling the purple ranger's hair this time. "Sounds like a party to me."

"There you go." Avalon rolled her eyes. She was Zack's problem now. "Thanks for the ride, Twinkle-Toes." She started to go then turned back to him. "Hang on a tick." He parked the car once more and rolled down the window. "When we saw you dancing in the garage…I could tell that you really, really enjoy it. No matter what your Dad says…you should stick with it. I don't think I've seen you as happy."

"Thanks." Zack smiled gratefully. "I'll see you later."

Avalon stepped back and waved as the car drove off. Twisting her mouth to the side, she turned and went into the police station. It was as bustling as ever, with officers at their desks and going up and down the halls, conversing with each other. A few officers were walking handcuffed men, women, and teenagers through the halls as well.

Walking up to the front desk, Avalon took a step forward and addressed the man sitting behind the desk. "Yeah, I'm here to meet with my probation officer."

"Name?" The man asked.

"Avalon Mitchell."

"Right." He stood up from behind the desk and walked around it to her, holding out his hand. "Lt. Stone. I've been looking at your case as well." He placed his hands behind his back. "It's a very interesting one if I do say so myself." He held out an arm and motioned for her to follow him down the hall.

Avalon walked along behind him, her gaze at her feet. Was there anyone that _didn't_ know about her before she met them? _At this point I may as well tell everyone I'm a power ranger. That seems to be the only way people will stop being scared of me._ She followed Lt. Stone into an empty office and sat down in the chair on the far side of the desk.

"Officer Brand will be with you in a moment." Lt. Stone straightened the tie around his neck. "I've got a group of potential junior cadets that I need to meet up with."

Avalon's eyebrows rose as she looked up at him. He said his name was Lt. Stone. A smirk curled on her lips when she remembered what Bulk and Skull had said to her. This was the guy that now going to have to deal with them. "Good luck," she said sweetly as he left the room. Her smile faded when the door closed behind him.

Being in a police station was one of the last places she ever expected to be. Even after a few minutes of being there she was cold; hands between her knees, weight resting on the balls of her feet, propelling her knees up and down in rapid succession. It must be what torture was supposed to be like. Maybe force a confession with the cold air.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Miss. Mitchell," Officer Brand apologized as he entered the room. If it was cold to him, he didn't show it. "I had a pressing matter to attend to."

"No worries," Avalon repeated through gritted teeth.

"So I guess we should just get the first questions out of the way." Officer Brand took out a pad of paper and a pen. The click of the pen was like a gunshot in the room, the only other sound. Avalon refused to make any sudden movements, just in case. "Have you been in contact with Chase Sharp since the last time we've met?"

Avalon swallowed thickly. "No, sir" she said calmly.

"Have you been in contact with Summer Ray or Skye Axford since the last time we've met?"

"No, sir"

"Have you participated in anything that would hinder your ability to conclude your duties as seen by the Angel Grove Police Department?"

"No, sir."

Officer Brand stared at the orange ranger for a long, tense moment. "You are aware that if I find out that you have been lying that your sentencing could be extended if not changed so that you do serve time in jail."

"Yes, sir," Avalon said. She knew the short answers weren't what Officer Brand wanted. It was the only way to be sure she wasn't exhibiting her guilt. She had been in contact with Chase, Summer, and Skye. If she tried to explain that she was in the process of getting out of the gang, it wouldn't work in her favor.

She'd have extra hours added onto her community service, picking up litter along the highway, and that was something she was hoping to get out of soon. She made a mental note to ask Caine about switching areas of interest but it had taken his smooth talking just to get her that.

Officer Brand nodded and continued to write notes on his legal pad. When he was finished, he reached down to the top drawer of his desk. Opening it, he passed by a gun, a switchblade, and a badge before finally producing a small, plastic bottle. Clearing his throat, he closed the drawer and twisted the bottle in his hand before handing it out to her. "I think you know what this is for."

Avalon glanced at the bottle then turned back to Officer Brand with a defiant expression on her face. "I haven't, nor have I ever, taken drugs."

"You might not have willingly, but I can't be sure that your friends forced you to take some stuff or swallowed something so that you could smuggle it somewhere for them," Officer Brand said. Avalon raised a calculated eyebrow. "I've been in this business a long time, Miss. Mitchell. I know a lot of tracts that gang bangers use."

Avalon felt her jaw start to throb as she clenched her teeth together. Her dark eyes flashed with fury. She wasn't a gang banger. How hard was it to have people not judge her before they got to know her? Yes, she was on probation, yes she was being watched as a possible link to stop the Vipers that had been her part of the deal when she turned herself in. Was it really that hard to see that she changed?

Standing up, Avalon snatched the bottle off the table. _I have an idea what he can do with it._ As she turned on her heel she glanced at a potted plant in the corner of the room. Discreetly, she held up her hand and allowed a small stream of fire to hit the trunk. She smirked as Officer Brand leapt to his feet and hurried over to the plant. Turning out of the room, spinning the cup in her hand, she spotted Lt. Stone down the hall, pacing back and forth in front of Bulk and Skull.

His face, which seemed to have been set in stone before, was now red and a vein was popping out of his neck. Bulk and Skull watched him pace back and forth, though they didn't appear daunted by his frustration.

She turned away from them and headed back to the bathroom, tightening her grip on the bottle. If they weren't going to see that she had changed, then she was going to make sure they knew it.

…

..

.

"Do you _really_ think she's telling the police about us?" Chase lifted his head from his upraise fist, rolling his gaze to the passenger seat where Summer stared at the AGPD building. "She wouldn't be that stupid."

"You never know," Summer replied. Lifting her feet, she rested her stilettos on the dashboard, carefully dusting them off. They were bright and shiny, brand new and stolen from the store. They still had a tag hanging off the heel of her left stiletto. "Haven't you noticed that she hasn't been as invested in us as usual? It was the same thing Emily had done before she turned out."

"Not that that matters," Chase replied. "She was never really in anyway." He rolled his eyes. "She wanted to look tough and went off with those dumb bikers."

"Not everyone can handle this life, Chase," Summer reminded him. Leaning up in her seat, she reached out and pulled down the sun visor and opened it to look in the mirror. She arranged her blonde beach waves around her face just so before blowing a kiss to her reflecting and replacing he visor. "You know that." She then opened the glove compartment and took the pistol that slid out.

Chase glanced at her then leaned forward in his seat, pretending to adjust the gas and brake pedals. Instead, he was looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. "Are you out of your fucking mind? At least wait until we're out of here."

"Relax." Summer leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, nuzzling her nose against him. "I know what I'm doing."

With an incredulous sigh, Chase reached up and grabbed onto Summer's hair, painfully pulling her head back away from him. Summer looked back at him, her lips slightly curled. "Don't test me," he warned her under his breath. He painfully tightened her grip. "I could fuck you up quicker than you could blink. The last thing you'd see is that pretty little shot of the ceiling that you have right now."

"Fine." Chase roughly shoved her head away from him and started up the car. He pulled out of the parking lot and started down the street. Summer fixed her hair once more then pulled her phone from her pocket. "Skye? Yeah, there's something you need to do…"

* * *

 

"I feel really bad for Jason," Trini said as she and Billy walked back to her house. The two had teleported from the Command Center following the news of Jason's not being a ranger for a while. "Why didn't he talk to us about this?" She played with her fingers. "I mean, there were some times where I thought something was off but…" she trailed off.

"None of us could have guessed what was going on, Trini," Billy reminded her. He put out his arm, hesitating for a moment, before putting it around her shoulders. Trini immediately moved into his side, snuggling against him. "It's just very unfortunate that it had to happen this way. But he was sure to have been found out in the near future."

"I guess," Trini agreed. "I just wish there was something we could do for him."

"All we can do is continue to be his friend and show our support while we wait for it to get out of his system," Billy said. He gently rubbed her shoulder. "There's really nothing we can do now but wait."

Trini nodded and smiled up at him. "Thanks for making me feel better."

"You're welcome." He looked up and stopped short when he noticed they had arrived at her house. "Um." Removing his arm from her shoulder, he shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels. "Maybe I should just go—"

"Billy." Trini reached out and grabbed onto his hand. "Relax. My parents aren't going to be home for a while." She smiled at him and gently tugged him over to the front door. Taking out her keys she unlocked it and went inside. Billy looked over his shoulder then followed her in, closing the door behind him. He followed her lead in taking off his shoes and leaving them by the door. "Do you want something to eat? I can make you something really fast."

Billy's face twisted into an expression of disgust as he remembered the escargot she had tried to feed him and the other rangers before. She hadn't tried to cook much since then, but he wasn't going to take his chances.

"No, I'm alright," he politely declined.

"Are you sure?"

"Affirmative."

"OK then, I guess we should get started on our homework." Trini took her backpack and walked over to the living room. Billy followed her and the two set up their books around the coffee table. They worked for about twenty minutes before Trini made a sound of frustration. "Do you understand this portion of the math homework?"

Billy looked at the portion of the book she was pointing at then chuckled, pointing to it himself. "Tree, this is the Pythagorean Theorem, you know that inside and out."

Trini shrugged, flashing him a warm smile. There was a mischievous glint in her eye. "So…maybe I don't want to do homework right now." She rested her head on Billy's shoulder, playing with the ends of her hair.

Billy felt his heart hammer against his chest for a few minutes before it slowed. He was relaxed. He felt so comfortable with her; the way her head lightly rested on his shoulder, the way her hair fell behind her ears and drifted behind her back. Billy brought a hand up and gently moved it around her waist and Trini brought her up to gently rest on his shoulder, fingertips gently grazing his neck, sending shivers up and down his spine.

Backing away slowly, Trini continued to brush her fingertips against Billy's neck. Billy smiled down at her, but couldn't find the words to accurately depict what he was feeling. He tightened his grip around her waist, moving his other arm to encompass her body as well.

Trini let out a light giggle and leaned into him again, gently brushing her lips against his neck. His heart beat rapidly increasing; Billy leaned in and gently brushed his lips against the yellow ranger's cheek.

Trini let out a sound of surprise and pulled back enough to look at him. They head each other's gaze for a second then she leaned in and gave Billy a kiss on the cheek in return. This time, Billy leaned in towards her; he noticed her head tilt slightly before he closed his eyes, feeling his lips land on hers. As Billy reaches his hand up her back to her neck, to hold her close to him, she could feel her heart beat just as fast as his was.

As they kissed, Trini pulled back for a moment, to catch her breath, and then they resumed their kiss, Billy pressing harder this time, showing more emotion. She surprised him as he opened his mouth, following her led, and she gently took his top lip between her teeth. He could feel her smiling against him as she gently pulled at his lip. He kissed her again, this time more hungry before resting his forehead against hers, reveling in how close she was to him, how he could smell the unique scent of lavender and jasmine.

"Billy?"

"Hm?" Billy was glad he was still able to make some sort of noise. "Yeah?"

"I'm glad you didn't allow my parents to run you away," Trini said. She blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I really care about you and something I've learned since I was young and I remind myself daily is that you only have one life and you only have one shot at the things in it." She looked away for a moment. "You helped me get over my fear of heights—"

Billy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because you had to save me."

"Oh, don't think of it like that!" Trini chided. She turned back to Billy, an eyebrow lowered, a challenging smile on her lips. "Just think of it that you were helping me out."

"By having you save me," he repeated. Instead of being annoyed, he laughed. In a way, it had helped him too. It being one of the first fights against putties they had, he had quickly found his worth and how badly he wanted to get better and Trini was with him every step of the way. "I'm not taking that for granted….our friendship. You've been there for me as much as I've been there for you." He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand. "I don't trust anyone more than I trust you."

Trini looked skeptical. "The others…?"

"They're my friends, Tree, I do trust them. We all have to trust each other." He licked his lips. "But with you it's different."

Billy wrapped his arms around her again as she smiled the brightest smile she could ever muster. She snuggled against him and Billy kissed her forehead, then her nose, then captured her lips with his own.

He surprised himself with his own initiative, but found himself enjoying it as well. Trini tightened her grip around him as well, eagerly kissing him back. Billy pulled back and allowed her to nestle against his neck.

For the first time in a long time things were going their way.

"Zedd! Now's the time!" With a shriek of laughter, Rita marched across the Lunar Palace, waving her wand as she did so. The remaining horoscope monsters ducked and bobbed out of her was as she went. Squatt and Babboo, unfortunately, didn't move out of the way fast enough and had gotten smacked over the head. "Goldar! Get ready!"

"I've been ready ever since we got that jewel," Goldar snarled in reply. He held up his sword, the Azurite Healiodore embedded in the sheath of the sword, glowing a bright blue.

"Don't talk back to me you funky looking chicken!" Rita snapped. She turned her wand towards him, snarling. "I won't hesitate to turn you into solid gold and melt you down to make a tiara for when I become queen of the universe!"

"You're already queen of being a motor mouth, you don't need to be queen of anything else," Zedd mumbled, walking up behind Rita. He was calm, no hint of a red glow surrounding his body. It was time for them to do what they had set out when the two ad joined forces. They had waited long enough, watching the two planets and the ways they worked to be sure they knew when the perfect time to strike was.

Now was the time.

Their defenses were down.

Edenoi and Eltar were going to be theirs.

"Alright, Goldar…" Zedd turned and aimed his beam in the direction of the two distant planets. He grinned when he saw the inhabitants were moving like they had anticipated. Blissfully unaware that they were about to be taken over. "We are in position to attack. Remember what we told you. Kill as many as you can, enslave the others!" He turned to Zedd, holding his scepter out to him, shooting off bolts of electricity. "Go! Now!"

"I'd be happy to, my liege!" Goldar let out a roar, waving his sword over his head and letting out malevolence in his laugh. Flapping his wings, he flew off of the balcony and to the planets. As he went, the blue light of the Healiodore continued to increase in brilliance until Goldar was nothing but a bright blue streak bolting towards the planets. Zedd continued to watch as Goldar hovered over the planet. As the three had planned, they waited in the shadows until they were sure Goldar had control over the gem.

Now they knew how to defeat the rangers, hit them where it hurt.

Hit their beloved mentor and robotic friend where it would hurt them the most, in their home planets.

Rita continued to bounce up and down on her toes, letting out little squeaks as she did so. Zedd ignored her, watching as Goldar brought the sword above his head and swung it down, emitting a large blue blast at Edenoi. The light encircled the planet and increased in a brightness that rivaled the sun. When it dissipated and Goldar flew off towards Eltar, Zedd looked down into the planet. Bodies were lying everywhere, smoke smoking, some turned to ash. Those that managed to survive wouldn't last for long.

Not with the poison that was rotting the planet inside out.

Next stop was Eltar, home of Zordon.

"Can we do it now?" Rita grabbed onto Zedd's arm and squeezed it firmly. "Please? I want to be the one to tell him the good news!" Without waiting for Zedd's response, Rita walked over to the balcony of the Lunar Palace, waving Finster, Squatt, and Babboo over. "C'mon! Zordon needs to see this! And the only way we can be sure he will is if we have the whole _world_ see! Those puny rangers won't know what hit em'!" Throwing her head back, Rita cackled as Zedd came up to her side.

"It's only a matter of time until the rangers give up their powers and we can take over the universe," Zedd agreed.

…

..

.

In the Command Center, Alpha paced back and forth. That feeling was back again. Something was wrong with his home planet, his connection there, he could feel it. Zordon, who watched from the power tube, addressed him, "Alpha, what's troubling you?"

"Zordon, no one can help me," Alpha said sadly.

"Please tell me," Zordon insisted. At that moment, the sirens went off and on the viewing globe a picture of Rita and Zedd appeared. They stood menacingly, waving mockingly at the robot and floating head. "Rita! How have you gotten into our controls."

"All questions will be answered in time," Zedd snarled, gesturing violently with his scepter. "By now, that bucket of bolts should have had a distress signal from his home planet."

"From Edenoi?" Zordon questioned. "I should have known his memory banks of his home planet would still connect him to his life there." He glared at the master and mistress of darkness. "What have you done to it?"

"My planet is under heavy attack," Alpha said. "I can feel it."

"Yes!" Rita agreed. "Just as Eltar will be. Goldar is on his way now."

"What have you done to the planets?" Zordon demanded.

"You'll know soon enough," Zedd snapped. "And in that time you'll see the end of the power rangers once and for all!" He and Rita laughed and disappeared from the viewing globe.

"Ay yi yi yi yi!" Alpha turned to Zordon, hands waving, body moving in jerky movements of distress. "Zordon! Something terribly, terribly wrong is happening with our home planets. What are we going to do?"

"Unfortunately, Alpha, there isn't anything we can do as the planets are too far away," Zordon said. Though his face was stern, there was a hint of worry in his voice as well. "We can only wait to see what information we can gather and to make sure the rangers stay as informed as we are at all times. Rita and Zedd may be planning attacks on Earth to keep them busy."

"I hope you're right, Zordon," Alpha said.

"As this may be the toughest battle the rangers will ever have to face, I hope so too."


	16. A Push In The Wrong Direction

**Chapter 16**

_A Push in the Wrong Direction_

* * *

 

"I just don't understand why you would want to go to such great lengths, Jason," Marissa said with a disapproving frown as she sat at the kitchen table with her son. The red ranger lowered his head, trying not to meet his mother's gaze, knowing he would find nothing but disappointment there in her normally kind eyes. "I know being beaten up like that was hard on you but—"

"That's just it, Mom," Jason interrupted. "It was hard on me," he said. He pushed his bowl of cereal aside. "It was really weird; I haven't been beaten that badly before. And…when I had the pain medications at the hospital, I felt better and—"

"Jason," Caine interrupted. He pulled back the chair that sat next to his son and dropped heavily into it. He slapped the bottle of steroids down onto the table. "I don't think you understand that we're not mad at you because you took the steroids." He glanced down at the bottle with disdain. "Though I have to say these are very expensive." He reached out a hand and placed it on his son by his shoulder and his neck. Using his thumb and forefinger, he made sure that he had Jason's attention, forcing his head towards him. "What we're worried about is that there's a history of addiction in our family and we don't want you to fall into it as well."

Marissa reached out and grabbed onto Jason's hand, gently running her fingers over the back of it. "There's a history mainly because of the PTSD that has come from people in our family that were in the military as well," she said gently. Jason's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "That's why your father moved around so much when he was a kid, his father and brothers were in the military and had seen so many things that they ended up abusing different sorts of addictions. Drugs being one of them."

Jason sat up straight, scratching the back of his head. "Is that why Uncle Dennis isn't around much anymore?"

Marissa grimaced. "Well, he's around, it' just that we haven't allowed him to see you much because we didn't want you to see how his life ended up turning out because of his addiction."

Jason made a humming sound. It made sense now that he thought about it. He hadn't seen much of his grandfather or his uncle when he was growing up and when they did, he always had to be with his mother or father. Then there were many times where they would make a promise with him to go out to get ice cream or to watch him practice his martial arts and he would end up being distracted by a new toy or a trip to the ice cream parlor. "How bad is it?"

"Bad enough that he's been going to meetings and support groups on and off for the last ten years," Caine said. He let out a sigh, leaning forward and resting his chin in his hands. "Yeah…I haven't seen Dennis sober in as long as I could remember. He used to be so much fun, we would do everything together. I decided I couldn't watch him go through life looking for his next hit after he stole mother's jewelry for drugs."

"Wow." Jason curled his fingers into his fist. "That's….wow, I'm sorry…I didn't know."

"We didn't want you to know," Marissa said. "And maybe that was our fault. Maybe we tried to shelter you from things like that too much. It's something that you're going to see a lot of in school, around Angel Grove in general. We can't shelter you from it as much as we used to because it's everywhere."

"We just hope that you would make the right decision in staying away from it," Caine continued. "And that you understand the dangers of it." He picked up the bottle and shook it in front of Jason's face, gently spinning it in his hand. "Getting addicted to steroids will eventually end up in roid rage. You could become depressed, but aggression is more common. The aggressive behavior can then, in turn, culminate in violence to whoever gets in your way."

Jason's blood ran cold. _Violence?_

As in, he could be so into the steroids he could become violent towards _anyone?_ Jason clenched his hands even harder. So that's what Zordon meant and why he couldn't be a ranger until the drugs were out of his system. No wonder Billy had agreed to it as well. Awkwardness aside, what would happen if he allowed things to get too far?

Would he have hurt one of his friends if they got caught in a blast against a monster? Would he have seen that they were the enemy and attacked his friends just so that he could face a monster himself? What if he just attacked them when they were hanging out?

He had to admit his temper had started to get the best of him the past couple of days. No, not days, weeks. It had taken a couple of weeks for the adverse affects to become bad enough that he noticed. Yes, he had become stronger and his muscles had started to form quicker than ever, but it was his impatience he had felt the most. He suddenly felt very guilty over the way he had treated his friends and Zordon, and Alpha. How he had snapped at each of them and became so impatient.

He remembered how shocked Trini was when he had yelled at her when they were going to the mall. How Zack and Kimberly looked worried at him. The small fights that he and Avalon had gotten into. The way Alpha had obviously been hurt when he stormed into the Command Center just to get some homework done.

"Do you understand?" Caine pressed.

"Yeah." Jason nodded. "Yeah…Mom, Dad, I understand. I promise I won't…do anything like this ever again." He stood up, pushing back his chair. "And…I know you don't trust me right now but—"

"It's not that we don't trust you, Jason, it's that we're worried about you," Marissa said. She stood up and grabbed onto her son's forearms. "We're always worried about, every second of every day. Especially when there's a monster attack and we don't know where you are, or if the monster is in an area that we know you've been."

Jason did his best to keep the blossoming smirk off his face. _If only they knew…_

"I understand, Mom." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I really do." He turned to his father. "And I know that you guys are going to ground me or give me some sort of other mondo punishment, but I'm going to be late meeting my friends at the park so…"

"Alright." Caine reached out and grabbed onto his son's hands with both hands, firmly holding them between his palms. He pushed his hands together hard enough so that Jason's cheeks were pushed n and his lips were pushed out. "But if you ever do something like this again…"he leaned forward so that his forehead was pushed against his son's. "You will be grounded so hard that no one will ever find your body."

Jason managed a smile though his face was still being pushed together. "I understand, Dad," he mumbled.

"Good."

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Please let go of my face." Caine smiled and dropped his hands from the red ranger's face. Jason reached up and rubbed his palms against his cheeks, trying to get the feeling back into it. He smiled at his parents before leaving the house, pulling the door shut behind him.

Jason walked down a few steps then brought his wrist up to his face, ready to press a button on the side. He then froze as a brief thought came to mind. If he didn't have his morpher or coin anymore, did that mean that he could teleport? With a heavy sigh, Jason dropped his hands and started to walk over to Zack's house. Maybe he could bum a ride, it'd be better than potentially having to walk the whole way. He hadn't gotten used to that in a while.

* * *

 

Zack shifted his sports bag up his shoulder as he walked through the park, going to where he was supposed to meet up with the other rangers. It had been a while since the rangers had been able to hang out and not have to worry about what was going on around them. Even if a monster did happen to pop up, at least they had time to themselves for a while. Seeing some kids on the playground, Zack lifted a hand and waved to them as he went. They all waved back to him, yelling his name as he went by.

He had seen those kids so many times before throughout his dance classes and hip hop kido classes as well as when he would help their sports teams. It was always humbling to know how much they looked up to him as a person and as a power ranger. In fact, he was sure the two boys playing in the corner were playing power rangers as they actively ran in tight circles, stopping to punch and kick at each other as they went, explosions and cries of pain coming from their mouths with each throw.

Zack smiled and faced forward once more, nearly walking into Skye as he stepped out onto the path from behind a tree. "Geez! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Not really," Skye replied calmly. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket. He shrugged, his eyebrows quickly flitting upwards. "But I do have something to give you if you'd be willing to take it." He took a step towards Zack.

Zack took a step back. "You're not going to kiss me or anything are you?" He held his hands up, giving him the side-eye. "Cause I have no problem with that sort of thing, I just don't swing that way."

Skye glared at him. "Relax, buddy, that's not what I need." He looked around for a moment before taking another step forward. "I need your help."

"You need _my_ help?" Zack repeated suspiciously. "You're the one that drove one of my friends into a life of crime and you need _my_ help?"

"Pinkie can make her own decisions," Skye said dismissively. "But that's not what I'm talking about." He cleared his throat. "Y'see, we supply to some of the guys at your school and they've been bugging me for their next hit." He gently patted at the inside pocket of his jacket. "But I haven't been able to get anything good until recently and since I don't ever plan on stepping on school grounds and I'm so busy defending my own stuff, I figured you could help me."

"Help you do what?" Zack pressed. Skye gave him a meaningful look, glancing around the park once more. "Deal? No way!" He held up his hands, walking around Skye and starting down the path again. "No, fucking way! I'm not a drug dealer, I don't do drugs, and I'm not going to help you out."

"Not even when those guys gave you that cocaine before?" Skye's voice caused Zack stop in his tracks. "Yeah, I know about that. It's my business to know what happens to the drugs. That cost me and the gang about fifty dollars by itself and you flushed it down the toilet." Zack turned back around stared hard at Skye. The blonde's gray eyes were flashing with mischief.

He had him.

He knew it.

"So unless you want to give me that money back—"

"I don't have that kind of money," Zack interrupted.

Skye smirked. "I didn't think so," he said. He motioned for Zack to walk back over to him again. "Which means that you owe me that money. So you can either take this,"—he reached into his pocket and held it out to Zack, revealing a baggie filled with green flecks—"or you can wait for a moment that you don't expect and sit still why you take a beating." A malicious grin, much like a shark's, slid onto his face. "Which I can't guarantee you'll live from or that you won't be a part of the Vipers afterwards."

"What?" Zack's eyes shifted back and forth from the drugs that were being held out to him and to Skye's face. He understood the danger the second Skye had materialized in front of him. It crept up his spine and clenched his body more so than any monster that Rita or Zedd could come up with.

"It's your choice."

Zack continued to look back and forth from the drugs to Skye's face. The malicious smile hadn't changed, but his eyes appeared to have darkened with an evil intent. Now Zack understood how Avalon was way over her head with the gang. There didn't seem to be any way to get out of it, not when there were ultimatums like this.

With a shaking hand, Zack reached out and grabbed onto the baggie, quickly shoving it into the pocket of his sports bag. "Fine," he said shortly. "But this is the only time I'm doing it for you."

"Fine." Skye held his hands up, backing away from him. He turned on his heel and walked away from the black ranger.

Zack scowled and walked away as well. He glanced down at the pocket every now and then, being sure it was zipped up all the way. Just knowing there was something there…The sound of guitar playing reached his ears and Zack followed it. _Kim must be working on a new song,_ he thought. As he approached, he found Avalon and Bailey sitting on a picnic blanket. Bailey was watching her sister play the guitar and Avalon was leaning back against a tree, an acoustic guitar resting on her lap, head gently bent to look down at the strings and frets as she played. Walking up behind the tree he could hear Avalon singing softly.

"Wow, that's great," Zack said as he sat down next to the orange ranger.

She jumped in surprise and immediately stopped playing the guitar. Leaning forward, Avalon slapped a hand over her chest and glared at the black ranger. "Don't do that you boofhead!" She snapped. "You almost gave me a freaking heart attack!"

"Join the club," Zack said, sitting down next to her. He placed his bag on the ground beside him.

Bailey shook her head. "I keep telling her that she should let people hear her sing, but she clams up each and every time someone comes along."

"I don't sing well," Avalon defended herself.

"I don't know, what I heard sounded really good," Zack pressed.

Avalon glared at him again. "Don't help her."

"What? I'm telling the truth. Of the little bit that I heard, you sounded really good. I don't know why you don't let other people hear you sing."

"I don't like people to know that I'm a klutz either, but you don't see me making a show of that." Avalon leaned to the side and put her guitar back in its case, carefully closing it. She turned back to Zack, resting her arms on her upraised knees, giving her sister a pointed look.

Bailey stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Av, you're gonna have to get over this stage fright thing at some point."

"Not any time soon, hopefully," Avalon replied. She looked up as Jason and Fred walked over to the group. "I was wondering when Rudolph would show his face. I was starting to think that all the other reindeers' teasing finally got to you."

"And give you the satisfaction of not being around anymore, Avie? I don't think so," Jason replied. He reached out and mussed her hair, causing her to push his hand away, frantically pushing it back into place. "Hey man." He held his hand out to Zack and the two gave each other a man hug. "I went over to your house to see if I could bum a ride, but you weren't there."

"Yeah, I walked," Zack replied. "I left early because Mom wanted me to stop by the store for something." His eyes moved over to his bag and he stared at it for a long moment, before turning back to the other rangers. "Anyway, I brought a basketball; let's get a game going while we wait for the others."

"We won't have to wait long," Bailey said. She pointed behind her towards the slope where Kimberly, Tommy, Fred, Billy, and Trini were walking over to them. "Oh, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha are with them, too!" The purple, orange, black, and red rangers got to their feet and went over to meet their friends.

"Hey guys, look who we ran into," Kimberly said, motioning to the three teenagers at her side. In her left hand she carried a large picnic basket. The three Stone Canyon teenagers smiled and waved.

"I hope you don't mind," Trini added. "We invited them to have the picnic with us."

"No worries," Bailey replied. "The more the merrier." She then looked over at Fred and smiled shyly at him, her gaze moving to her feet. "Hey, Fred."

"Hey Bay," he replied.

Avalon made a retching sound, sticking her finger towards he open mouth. Tommy gave her a warning look and she shrugged in reply. He then turned away from her and did a quick head count. "Great, now that we have twelve people, we can play a game of six-on-six."

"Sounds good to me," Rocky said. Adam and Aisha made their own gestures of agreement.

"Sounds like a plan," Jason said. He snatched the ball from the black ranger's hands and spun it around his finger before holding it tightly between his palms; much like his father had done to him that morning. "You and I can both be captain. And my fist pick is Zack." He put his arm around the black ranger's shoulders and pulled him to his side.

"Then my first choice is Kim," Tommy said, causing his girlfriend to beam with excitement.

The pickings went on until it was Tommy, Kimberly, Adam, Trini, Fred, and Avalon on one team with Jason, Zack, Rocky, Aisha, Billy, and Bailey on the other. Jason and Tommy started out the game, with Zack throwing the ball high into the air and the red and white rangers jumped up to try and claim the ball. Tommy snatched up the ball and bounced it over to Adam, who quickly sidestepped Rocky to get into the free space.

When Tommy threw the ball over to him, Aisha jumped in the way and dribbled the ball back up the court and passing it over to Bailey. The shorter Australian girl backed up a few paces and took a shot at the basket, but Trini jumped up in the way and batted the ball back down to Avalon, who was quickly blocked by Billy.

"Oh come on!" She protested. "That's not fair; I'm too short to play this game."

"The adverse affects of your height are not comparative to the talent one has for a certain sport, Ava," Billy said, holding his arms out to keep her from making a shot on the basket.

Avalon frowned and pushed the ball forward, hitting Billy in the face before running around him, dribbling to the basket. She passed the ball to Adam who did a layup and managed to score a point. Tommy, Kimberly, Adam, Trini, Fred, and Avalon all cheered, high-fiving each other.

"Are you OK, Billy?" Trini asked her boyfriend, trying to conceal her laughter.

"Yeah." Billy pinched the bridge of his nose, chuckling to himself. "I really deserved that one."

"Or Av needs to work on her temper problems," Kimberly remarked.

"You'd have temper problems too if you were the shortest one, Pinkerbell," Avalon defended herself. "I'm even shorter than _you_." Kimberly smiled and put her arm around the orange ranger's shoulders and gave her a comforting hug, causing Avalon to smile a little as well.

The game started up again with both teams doing a good job of blocking each other from the basket, though Jason's team managed to get a point on their side of the scoreboard as well. The rangers, Fred, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha continued to play the game, not noticing the set of putties that Rita and Zedd had sent down until they had grabbed the basketball from Fred's hands and threw it over his shoulder.

"Whoa!" Adam cried, holding up his fists. "What are those things?"

"They look like ugly lawn ornaments," Aisha added.

"But uglier," Rocky agreed.

"You guys should get out of here," Tommy said to them. He ducked out of the way as a putty tried to punch him in the head. Bringing his hands up, he grabbed onto the arm and kneed the putty in the Z-plate not he chest. Looking around him, he saw that the others had been locked in battle as well. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were locked into fights with putties as well, making quick work of them whenever they came their way. "Hurry while you still have a chance!"

"What about you guys?"

"I think we have bigger problems," Zack said. He had just defeated another putty when he noticed that a monster holding onto a giant urn of water had appeared in the park. "Looks like Rita and Zedd have decided to make things harder for us."

"Guys!" Jason called to Fred, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. "Get out of here now, it's not safe!"

"Are you sure?" Fred asked.

"Just go!" Kimberly insisted.

The four teenagers ran away and the rangers turned back to face the monsters. Billy studied it for a moment. "Looks like this monster is based off the constellation Aquarius," he pointed out. "The water bearer."

"Why don't you get a load of this?" The Aquarius monster placed his hand over the opening of the urn and when he pulled his hand out, he shot a wave of hard water at the rangers, causing them to duck out of the way. Billy brought his hands up as they started to glow blow and caught the ball of water in his hands. Bringing his arm back, he threw it back at the monster. Instead of showing pain from the attack, the Aquarius monster let out a sigh of content and shook excess droplets of water off its head. "That's exactly what I needed."

"Let's get rid of this clown," Zack said. The other rangers nodded. Jason reached down for his morpher and then dropped his arms at his sides. He looked up at Avalon, who looked back at him, her face empty of any emotion. Jason swallowed thickly and nodded at her.

"You can do it, guys," he said to them, as convincingly as possible. He backed up out of the way.

Avalon gripped his morpher in her hand and nodded up at Tommy, who waited for her to make a move. "Alright guys. It's morphin' time! Tiger zord!"

"Ankylosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers, minus Jason, morphed and ran forward to attack the Aquarius monster. Avalon leapt high into the air. "Power sowrd!" She called. Jason's weapon appeared in her hand and she brought it down with a hard swing, striking the Aquarius monster directly in the face. When it stumbled back, she held the sword high above her head as it stated to glow red. "Fire!" It erupted in a swarm of flames and she swung it down, striking him in the face once more.

"Power Daggers!" Trini jumped in beside Avalon, holding tightly onto her weapons. Bobbing and weaving this way and that, Trini continued to strike the Aquarius monster and her weapons started to glow yellow. "Lightning!" The monster screamed as he was electrocuted and fell back to the ground.

"Let me try!" Bailey held up her hands. "Ankylo Blaster!" A large gun covered in spikes appeared in her hands. The Aquarius monster got back to its feet and started to move back and forth across the grass, as if gliding over water. "Hold still you slimy fish!" She growled in frustration.

"We got it," Tommy said. "Saba!" He lifted his sword out of its sheath and spun it in his hand a few times before throwing it up into the air. "Make sure this guy doesn't move!"

"You got it!" Saba flew over to the monster and shot a red beam out of its eyes. The Aquarius monster growled as it was suddenly bathed in a red beam, unable to move anything other than its eyes and mouth.

"Argh! Let go of me you power pukes!" The Aquarius monster cried, trying to wiggle free.

"Power Lance!"

"Power Axe!"

Zack and Billy summoned their own weapons and leapt over to the monster as well. They spun their weapons around and stuck it to the monster, holding him still, an added hinder along with Saba.

Kimberly moved up to Bailey's side. "Let's blow this monster away," she declared. Bailey nodded and gave the pink ranger a high-five. Kimberly pulled back the band on her Power Bow and the arrow started to glow a bright pink as the wind picked up. Bailey pulled back the action on her blaster and charged it up the gun. She looked at the older girl once more and the two nodded and fired their weapons.

The spikes off of the Ankylo Blaster shot forward and struck the Aquarius monster in the arms and stomach as Zack and Billy rolled out of the way. Kimberly's power bow, now equipped with her wind power, shot forward and struck the monster right in the face. The accompanying wind spun him around, striking the monster with bolts of energy as it did so. It fell to the ground, shaking its arms and legs as he did so.

"No!" The Aquarius monster cried. "This can't happen!" A bolt of lightning appeared from the sky and the monster grew to its largest size. He roared with laughter, running towards the playground and started to kick the jungle gym and the slide, knocking them over. He then turned back around and shot a wave of water towards the rangers once more.

"Now to finish it off," Zack continued. "Let's bring the weapons together!" He suddenly heard a cry of pain and turned to see Avalon fall to her knees. "Av! Are you OK?"

"I…think so…" Avalon managed to get out before she cried out once more, bringing her hands to the red helmet. She continued to whimper as red electricity started to crackle around her. She let out another moan, demorphing. "Ugh, not again."

"She couldn't hold the power!" Tommy held up his hand and Saba flew back to his hand. He quickly sheathed it and hurried to her side, holding her up. "It must be too strong for her."

"Nothing's too strong for me," Avalon denied. She replaced Jason's morpher on her belt and grabbed her own. "Stegosaurus!" Raising it above her head, she morphed into the orange ranger. "Let's get this thing over with!"

"We need thunder Megazord power now!"

"Stegosaurus, Phoenix ,Thunderzord Power!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord Power!"

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord Power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord Power!"

"Saber tooth Tiger, Gryphon, Thunderzord Power!"

"White Tiger Thunderzord Power!"

Bailey leapt up into the cockpit of her Ankylosaurs zord. "Bailey here, I'm ready to roll!"

With the absence of the tyrannosaurus, red dragon Thunderzord the thundermega zord couldn't be constructed, though that didn't deter the rangers from trying to attack the Aquarius monster. Billy moved his zord up towards the front, the horn of the unicorn starting to glow a bright blue.

"Aqua strike!" He called. The blue light continued to glow brighter and brighter and a rush of hard water flew from the horn and at the Aquarius monster. Instead of the monster screaming in pain and flopping to the ground, it glowed a bright blue, starting to laugh even harder. "What? What's going on?"

"The water seems to be making it stronger," Trini deduced. "Billy, don't use your water attacks on it anymore!"

"While you all try to figure out what's going to stop me, why don't I give you a chance to think about it!" The Aquarius monster shot another wave of water at the rangers. This time, however, the water turned into a whirlpool, trapping the rangers and their zords inside.

Kimberly let out a cry of pain as she was flung to the side of her zord. She sat up and grabbed the controls of her zord once more. "Guys, I can't get control of my zord! I think the water is short circuiting it."

"Me too!" Avalon agreed. She tried to control her zord to fly high up into the air but it got stuck in the side of the whirlpool, flinging her around. "Oh God, I think I'm going to chunder in here," she moaned.

"What are we going to do?" Bailey cried.

"There has to be something guys, don't give up yet," Tommy declared. Though it sounded like he was doing his best to keep from losing control of his zord as well.

Zack closed his eyes, holding tightly onto the joysticks of his zord. He could feel the lion zord starting to get sucked into the sides of the whirlpool just as Avalon's zord was. _No! There has to be something we can do!_ Hearing the sound of a panel opened, Zack opened his eyes and looked in front of him to see that a panel had indeed opened and the Power Cube was deposited into his zord.

"Zack, it's time for you to take on the ability that the Power Cube will give you," Zordon said.

"Be careful, Zack," Alpha added. "We don't know what this new power will do."

"You got it!" Zack reached forward and grabbed onto the Power Cube. A black/purple light glowed throughout the cockpit of his zord and Zack could feel it move through his body. When he let go of the zord, his eyes were still closed and yet, he could still see the Aquarius monster. It was in the middle of the whirlpool, laughing hysterically as the rangers continued to get buffeted by the water around them. As he continued to watch, Zack could see it was doing its best to hold onto the urn that held its water. _That's it!_ "Guys, I know how to defeat this thing!"

"I hope you can do it fast," Trini moaned. "I'm starting to feel sick too."

"Join the club," Avalon murmured.

Zack grinned and opened his eyes. He watched as Avalon's phoenix zord flew by and directed himself into the wall of water as well. "Zack, don't!" Billy protested. "It'll be too hard for you get out of that vortex! We don't know what it's going to do to the zords."

"Just trust me, guys," Zack said. He waited as his zord flew around the whirlpool, directing himself towards the Aquarius monster as he did so. When he came back around he directed the front of his zord towards the monster. "Psychic Strike!" His lion zord lifted its paw and it started to glow a bright purple/black and as he swung the paw down the beam shot forward and broke the urn.

"No!" The Aquarius monster cried. The whirlpool dissipated and the rangers' zords crashed to the ground. "No! No! How'd you do that!? Ugh, and I was having so much fun, too!"

"Have fun with this!" Zack pounced the lion zord onto the Aquarius monster and knocked it down onto its back. "Tommy, you're going to have to be the one to finish this off!"

"You got it." Tommy gave a thumbs up and directed his zord to the monster as Zack backed away. With a press of a few buttons the red orb in the mouth of the tiger on his zord started to glow and a beam of energy shot back out towards the Aquarius monster, capturing it in the beam. It screamed as the energy crashed through its body and he blew up.

"Yeah!" Jason cheered from where he was watching the fight at a distance. Crossing his arms over his chest, he smiled warmly. "Great job, guys!"

"So it looks like I'm not the only one with new powers now," Zack said with a laugh once he and the rangers demorphed in the Command Center. He then looked seriously at the other rangers. "Somehow I was able to see the weak spot of the monster."

"Your powers must be that of a psychic then," Billy said. He brought a hand up to his chin, gently rubbing it. "If you were able to see what the weak spot was when the rest of us would have had no idea."

"At least something worked," Kimberly pointed out. "If he didn't get his powers who knows what would have happened."

"Yeah, especially considering this didn't help at all," Avalon said glumly. She took Jason's morpher off her belt and handed it over to the red ranger before turning back to Zordon and Alpha. "I don't get it," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "If I have the ability of two rangers, how come I can't control any of them?"

"You were able to control Jason's a bit longer than the Ankylosaurus one," Trini pointed out. She looked just as stumped as the orange ranger did. "But it still didn't end up working out for us."

"Unfortunately we may never know the reasoning as to why she is not able to control another ranger's powers," Zordon said. He appeared disappointed. "As it stands, we should be glad that no one was hurt, though the zords are going to need extensive repairs from the water damage they sustained."

"No worries, Zordon," Bailey said. "Billy and I will get as much work on them done as we can."

"Don't worry about it today, rangers," Alpha said. "We're glad you're OK." He walked over to Jason and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be back to the fight soon, Jason."

Jason shrugged, his arms still crossed over his chest. "I just wish there was something else I could do. Sitting on the sidelines is really hard," he admitted. He looked at the rangers with an apologetic expression. "If I hadn't started to take those steroids—"

"Jason," Kimberly interrupted. She placed a hand on his forearm and smiled sweetly at him. "You're so loyal to us, and your family. I really like that about you, but right now you need to wait until Zordon and Alpha are sure that things will be OK when your morph again. Don't worry about it. We know you'd be helping us if you could."

Jason nodded, giving a tiny smile.

Zordon and Alpha teleported the rangers back to the park where they gathered their things and headed their separate ways. Billy and Avalon went back to the Cranston house and deposited their things by the door once they arrived. "You'd think by now we'd come to expect Rita and Zedd ruining something that we're trying to do," Avalon complained. She shivered as the air conditioning kicked in. Opening the hall closet door she pulled out a blue letterman jacket. "I'm borrowing this," she said, pulling it on.

"Go ahead." Billy sat down on the couch and started to flip through the TV channels. "And I concur with your statement. Over the years Rita and Zedd have been doing a great job of ruining everything we've ever tried to do." He shook his head as Avalon sat down on the other end of the couch, drawing her knees to her chest. She absentmindedly played with her hair, brushing out the knotted ends that had been tangled in her helmet. "Though it proves that the evacuation plans the city have some up with are working better than could have been expected."

"Hasn't anyone ever thought of moving _away_ from Angel Grove because of all of the monster attacks?" Avalon asked. She continued to finger brush her hair. "Every now and then there'd be a bulleting about it back in Oz, but I thought it was a movie or something."

"Other than the monsters Angel Grove was always a peaceful place," Billy remarked. His voice softened as he remembered his days before becoming a ranger. "Everyone got along and the residents were always working on the next big thing."

"Really? Cause I thought every school had teenagers that were so into the environment and everything goody two shoes would be into," Avalon remarked. She lowered her hands from her hair, a troubled expression on her face. She pouted slightly. "Speaking of monster though, Smurf, do you have any ideas why I'm not able to use any one else's morphing powers? Isn't that the point of having the power of two rangers?"

Billy turned to face her. "I've thought of that myself," he admitted. "Especially after you tried the Ankylosaurus one and I've come to the conclusion that it may be because you're not destined to have anyone else's powers?"

Avalon's eyebrows lowered, the small movement being a hint for him to continue.

"All of us, we were destined to have the powers that we have now," Billy explained. "Triceratops for me, Stegosaurus for you, and Pterodactyl for Kim…" he trailed off for a moment. "The 'Power' that Zordon and Alpha always talk about, we don't know what it is. I'm not even sure they know what it is. From what I can understand, it's a being or a force that resides inside someone that holds the traits of the dinosaur or animal powers they'd possess."

Avalon glanced at him for a moment. "Thank God, Smurf, for once you said something in English and I could understand."

Billy smiled. "Either that or you're just starting to understand me."

Avalon's face slowly morphed into an expression of horror. "Oh my God, I've been around you lot too long! It's starting to rub off on me!" She then made an exaggerated face of disgust, sticking out her tongue as she did so.

Billy smirked at her. "I don't think that's a bad thing," he said. "Our rubbing off on you. Before you couldn't stand to be in a room with any of us longer than a minute."

"That's because you lot were annoying," Avalon said. She reached out and poked him on the cheek. "And no smirking, that's my move." She thumped herself in the chest to accompany her statement, a small smile sliding onto her face, bunching up her freckled cheeks.

Billy smiled back then twisted his mouth to the side. He gently picked at the back of the couch. "May I ask you a question?"

"I'm not going to go aggro if you do," Avalon replied. Billy's face then screwed up in confusion. "Aggro means aggressive Smurf." She waved a hand. "No worries. You'll figure it out soon. You'll come good." The confused expression deepened further and Avalon rolled her eyes. "The question, Billy. Just ask the question. Does this have to do with you and Trini? Is something wrong?"

"No." Billy shook his head. He took a deep breath. "Actually, I wanted to ask a question about the Vipers…how did you get into it?" Avalon's eyebrow quirked up. "I mean, I understand how you got in, because you felt you had nowhere else to turn—"

"I didn't _feel_ that way, I _had_ nowhere else to turn," Avalon corrected him. "But to answer your other question, I was jumped in." She sat up straight, pushing back the sleeves of Billy's jacket, and then dropped her hands to her lap. She looked him in the eye. "Jumping in is when the gang members beat you up for thirteen seconds and you have to stay standing for those thirteen seconds. If you stay standing you're in."

"It's as simple as that?"

"It's as simple as that," Avalon agreed. She decided to keep out that her first assignment to be sure that really was going to stay in the gang was that she had to rob someone at knife point. If he looked it up in the library he probably would have been able to find it pretty easily. The last thing she wanted was for the rangers to think about all of the bad things she had done. Rather than focusing on how she was trying to make herself better. _Besides, it might have been someone he knew,_ she reminded herself. "It was pretty brutal though, I wasn't able to open my right eye for almost two weeks and my lip was busted up pretty bad."

"Why didn't you ever leave?"

Avalon thought about it for a moment before responding. "Because we're a family," she finally said. Her face scrunched up and she bobbed her head back and forth. "An aggro, dysfunctional kind of family, but a family nonetheless. They were there for me when I needed the help and I was the same for them." She cracked her knuckles. "And to answer the other questions I'm sure you're dying to ask,"—her voice suddenly took on a harsh tone—"No, I've never killed anyone, and no I've never hurt a kid. Yes, I've robbed from a lot of people and houses. Yes, I've shot a gun; yes I've done some drug deals. But I've never drank or taken drugs and everything that I've ever done was to be sure that I could keep Bailey safe."

Billy gave her a pointed look. "So why do you insist on staying with them when she's safe now?"

Avalon's cheek twitched as she thought about it. There were so many ways she could answer the question, all of which would hide a tiny part of her inside the answer. Lifting her eyes she looked directly at Billy and found, in that moment, that she really did trust him. "Because….Because I'm scared," she said finally. "I'm scared of what's going to happen when I have that constant protection that they give me taken away. I'm scared they're going to come after me and Bay. I'm scared I'll wake up for brekkie one day and turn the corner and find a gun pointed in my face because one of them or the High-Flyers broke in." She started to twist her fingers together. "If I leave…if they find out that I'm an informant for the police…they'll feel betrayed. You can't do anything worse than betray your gang.

"And because I'm a girl in it…they could do whatever they want, really. Girls are disposable and guys are seen as the strength of a gang." Avalon waved her hand. "The thought never really bothered me before, but now that it's a possibility…" she trailed off.

Billy silently nodded, waiting for her to speak again.

"I've got a question for you," Avalon said to him. He nodded, urging her to continue. "How can you put up with me? I always seem to cause trouble…and…I'm sure I'm nothing _but_ trouble. I've managed to piss off everyone at some point or another. I don't like to let people get too close…and yet you're still able to put up with me somehow."

It was something she thought a lot about. Despite the fact the rangers clearly did trust her and wanted to help her, she couldn't help but feel, at times, it wasn't genuine. How could anyone want to take in someone that caused as much trouble as her? She could be perfectly fine one day and then the next want absolutely nothing to do with them. She could be as sweet as sugar to them one day and then the next say something incredibly rude or curse at them, saying they wouldn't understand.

Still, he never seemed offended with anything she ever had to say. He opened his house to her and Bailey and waited up for her whenever he knew she would be out with the Vipers.

Billy shrugged. "Because you're my best friend," he replied and smiled.

Avalon smiled back. "Beauty."


	17. Secrets

**Chapter 17**

_Secrets_

* * *

 

"Is it open?"

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good get in."

Avalon turned back towards the house and made sure she was as quiet as possible, pushing up the window as far as she could. Placing her hands on the windowsill she steeled her muscles and lifted herself up off the ground and into the window of the silent house. Carefully, she pulled herself inside shimmying forward until her hands were on the floor. All of a sudden she felt a hand on her butt, forcefully pushing her inside.

"Shit!" She fell forward and crashed to the ground with a loud thud. Holding her breath, she waited there for a few moments before turning around and glaring out the window. "Keep your hands off my ass," she snapped.

"Sorry." Chase shrugged as he motioned for Summer to climb in through the window next. "You were moving too slow." He turned back to her with a glare that rivaled hers, if not worse. "Don't fucking tell me what to do. And be quiet, would ya?"

Avalon gave him the finger and took a step back, reaching out a hand towards Sumer as she moved to climb in through the window. Summer slapped her hand away. "I can do it myself," she murmured then skillfully hoisted herself up and inside. Once her feet were safely on the floor, she whisked out a switchblade, the tiny, silver metal making a light whoosh in the otherwise silent house.

The two girls crept out of the room and silently crept through the house to the front door. Summer pulled back the lock and slowly opened the door. Chase and Skye slipped inside the house. As soon as the door was closed, Avalon ducked out of the way as Chase swung a fist at her. When she pulled back up, Chase grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"Don't tell me what to do," he growled. "In case you've forgotten, I'm the one that's running things around here. So unless you want to find yourself on a street corner with your throat slit open, I'd keep your mouth shut."

Emboldened, Avalon reached up and pushed his hand away. "You've been threatening me with that for the past couple of years, if that's how you feel, how come you haven't done it yet?"

Chase glowered at her.

"If you're done with your little lover's spat," Summer snapped harshly. "We have something we're in the middle of doing." She walked into the living room, loudly knocking a picture off the wall as she did so. Chase, Skye, and Avalon winced as it hit the ground. "What?" She barked over her shoulder, knowing she was being stared at. "There's no one here and this house has no neighbors for miles. It's why we chose it, remember?"

Pushing Avalon away from him, Chase walked into the living room behind Summer. Skye and Avalon slowly followed after them. Walking along quietly, Avalon followed the rest of the Vipers around the living room. She went over to the desk that sat in the corner and gently opened it. The first thing she found was a watch. Picking it up she looked it over, tiny stones were embedded in the sides. It was either a birthday gift or some sort of an anniversary gift, which meant it was pretty valuable.

The orange ranger continued to stare at it for a long moment, behind her, she could hear the rest of the Vipers going through whatever they had found, letting out quiet cheers over their successful finds. Avalon's mind ran a mile a minute. Who was the person that had received this watch as a gift? A mother? A father? A couple that was just starting a life of their own? She doubted the last one only because the house was so extravagant.

But how would she know? She had broken in to Kim's house and that was extravagant, the only difference being that her parents were divorced. It just showed her that she couldn't judge a house by its cover. Who knew who was preoccupying the inside?

Closing her eyes, Avalon shoved the watch into her pocket. When she opened them again, she came face to face with a photograph and quickly knocked it over with a vicious swipe of her arm.

"Are you crazy?" Skye whispered harshly.

"Relax," Avalon replied. "If we haven't gotten caught yet, we're not going to get caught." She continued to search the desk drawers until she stumbled upon a thing, long, flat book. "Bingo!" Turning around, she held it out to Chase. "I found a checkbook."

Chase practically flew across the room, snatching the checkbook from her hand in a matter of seconds. Opening it, he looked over the bank information then shoved it into his side pocket. "Good job, Pinkie." He patted her on the shoulder, all remnants of the threat he had issued to her was gone.

"Thanks."

Avalon ducked her head, turning away from the desk and walking over to the couch. She pulled back the cushions then absentmindedly tossed them aside. Summer, who was standing on her tiptoes by a bookcase, ran her fingers along a couple of the shelves. She knocked something to the floor and they all turned to see what had created the noise. Summer felt to her knees and started to giggle as she picked up handfuls of whatever it was that had fallen.

"What sort of idiot leaves their jewelry on a bookcase?" She asked in a whisper. The question caused Skye, Avalon, and Chase to flock over like starving dogs on a bone. "Who cares? This is enough to make up thousands easy."

"Grab it and let's go," Chase said.

Summer took handfuls of the jewelry and shoved as much as she could into her pockets. The Vipers then replaced everything that had been knocked aside, locked the front door, and then climbed back out through the window the way they had came. Once they reached the ground, they ran away from the house and through the woods at the back of the house to where they had stashed the car.

Avalon jumped into the driver's seat and started up the car, quickly peeling away from the area, reaching behind her and pulling on her seatbelt. Beside her, Skye let out a loud whoop, through his hands into the air. Summer and Chase cheered loudly as well.

"This will hold us for weeks yet," Skye said. "Enough so that we can try and bribe the High-Flyers to back off."

"We're working with the High-Flyers, remember?" Chase reminded him. "The North Brigade and the Insane Kings are taking over as much turf as they can get and as long as we have _someone_ on our side—"

"But you _know_ they do bad deals," Skye interrupted. "Its all we can do to make sure that we get what we're supposed to get. I even had to go to some other people to try and make some money." He snorted. "And let me tell you, having to convert a goody two-shoes type is harder than you'd expect." He shook his head. "I was inches away from waving a gun in his face to get him to do it."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Avalon murmured.

"You got that right."

Chase leaned forward from the backseat, placing his hands on the sides of their seats, placing his head between there. "I know what I'm doing," he said simply. "Have I ever given you a reason not to think that I know what I'm doing?"

"When you got those bad firecrackers," Summer pointed out.

Chase let out a slight chuckle. "Yeah, I can admit that." He looked out the front window. "Though at the time it was pretty fucking sweet to watch Charlie's fingers fly across the room." He quickly sobered, a dark shadow falling over his face again. The Vipers had lost so many people from their potion of the gang over the years and they still hadn't been able to recruit anyone else. Either people didn't make it through the jump-ins, or someone stopped them before they could get anyone else.

They were getting desperate and it was only a matter of time until their part of it broke up.

Chase patted her on the shoulder. Surprisingly, it was a comforting pat. "Keep driving."

Avalon nodded and continued towards the pawn shop. It wasn't the money they were going to make that was a constant thought in her head as she drove for the next twenty minutes. This time it was wondering how much longer it would take for Chase to completely crack.

* * *

 

"Is anyone besides me actually missing the fact that Bulk and Skull aren't interrupting class with their antics?"

Jason laughed loudly as he and the other rangers slid their books off their desks and headed out of the classroom at the end of the day. He walked backwards along with his friends, pointing at Avalon. "You're only saying that because you actually have to pay attention and do your homework now."

"I have to agree with the short one," Zack said with a shrug. "Now that I have to pay attention in class Dad is even more on my ass about grades. Especially if I want to stay on the football team." He looked around at the other rangers. "And you can't tell me that a bout of ab-inducing laughter isn't the best medicine for a day at school."

"My thoughts exactly," Avalon agreed. The two bumped fists as the other angers laughed.

"It's nice to know that you find some sort of entertainment in other people's misfortune," Tommy said, his arm around Kimberly's shoulders. Kimberly reached up and gently hit him on the chest.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Tommy, and I'm not," Billy started. "But you've laughed at Bulk and Skull and their misfortune just as much as the rest of us have."

"Yeah, you're right Billy," Tommy said. "Thanks for that reminder."

Billy laughed along with the other rangers as they arrived at their lockers. Changing out their books for what was needed of their homework that night, the rangers called goodbye as they went their separate ways. Avalon started to walk off down the hall when she felt Kimberly's arm loop through hers, turning her around.

"Don't even think about it, Av," the pink ranger said. "You said you'd help me plant some flowers in the park after school and I'm holding you to that promise."

Avalon rolled her eyes. "Why can't someone else do it?" she whined.

"Trini has some relatives coming into town, Billy is awful with plants, Tommy and Jason have martial arts practice after school, and Zack has a doctor's appointment." Kimberly counted off on her fingers as the orange ranger continued to try and squirm away. Feeling the movement, Kimberly pinned her elbow down to her side, hooking Avalon in place. "So you're out of luck and you're my helper for the day."

"Fine. "Avalon allowed herself to be pulled by Kimberly down the hallway. "I just have to stop and get Bailey from school first. It let out around the same time."

"No problem."

Kimberly finally unhooked her arm from Avalon's and the two rangers went into the parking lot where Kimberly's pink corvette was waiting for her. The two climbed inside and buckled up, and Kimberly pulled out of the parking lot, driving over to the middle school and pulling up outside. Avalon turned her head and scanned the crowd of students for her sister. It took only a few minutes before she spotted Bailey and Fred standing on the top step in front of the school. She was about to call out to her, then stopped when she saw that the two of them were shuffling their feet and barely looking at each other as they talked. Reaching out, Avalon tapped Kimberly on the arm and pointed.

Kimberly leaned forward and looked at the two young teenagers as well and smiled when she noticed that a blush had come to their cheeks as Bailey nodded and Fred grinned. He said something else and then bounded down the steps, going in the opposite direction as Bailey turned and spotted her sister and friend in the car. She walked as calmly as she could and climbed into the backseat, throwing her backpack in as she did so. Bailey buckled up and Kimberly drove to the park, the three girls riding along in silence until Bailey finally spoke up.

"Um," she said. "So…what are you…um…supposed to wear on your first date?" Her voice had gone quieter as each word came out of her mouth. So much so that Kimberly and Avalon barely heard her over the wind that rushed by. Still, when it came to clothes, make-up, shopping, and dating, Kimberly seemed to have a sixth sense about that sort of thing and heard her clearly.

"Fred asked you out on a date?" She practically screamed.

Avalon jumped, slapping her hands over her ears. "Ow! Kim! Dial it down a little, would ya?"

Kimberly ignored her as she pulled up to a red light. She twisted around in her seat to face the youngest ranger. "Did he really ask you out?" She waved a hand. "Tell me exactly what he said." Avalon turned to face her as well, keeping an eye on the light at the same time.

Bailey's face was bright red and her eyes were downcast behind her glasses. "Well, we were coming out of class and he said he had to ask me something. So we were at out lockers at he said that his Dad had some tickets to go to mini-golfing or whatever." She waved a hand. "Something he got from a co-worker I reckon. And he asked if I wanted to go with him." She paused. "That's a date right?"

"Sounds like all of the dates I've ever been on," Avalon replied. Kimberly gave her a funny look, but she ignored her. Smiling, Avalon reached back and grabbed onto her sister's arm. "I'm happy for you, Bay. It was bound to happen at some point." She smirked. "And for a while I thought you were going to marry a book."

"Av!" Bailey protested. "That's so not funny, boofhead."

"It's _so_ funny and you know it, boofhead," Avalon shot back. She then gave a peaceful smile. "But I mean it, Bay, I'm happy for you. Fred's a cool guy and if anyone should be able to put up with you, he definitely can."

Kimberly made a sound of surprise as the light turned green and she started driving again. "I can't believe you two."

"We've always been like this, Kim," Bailey replied. "We care about each other but we rag on each other too." She held up a finger. "And we're the only ones that can do that." She settled back into her seat with a tiny smile on her face.

Avalon glanced over at Kimberly and the pink ranger smiled back at her. They arrived at the park and Kimberly pulled into a parking space closest to the front. Getting out, she went around to the back of the car and unlocked the trunk and pulled out a couple of potted plants. She passed them out to Avalon and Bailey and then took some for herself before directing them to the area where they would be planting them. Along the way, they passed a concrete wall that was filled with graffiti. Avalon slowed to a stop when she spotted the symbol of the Vipers, showing that the area was tagged by them, it was their territory.

Bailey kept going and sat down on the grass, arranging the plants around her. Kimberly handed her a spade and put down her own plants before walking back over to the orange ranger. She crossed her arms, coming up to her side as the two stood in silence. "Did you do that?" she asked.

"Yeah," Avalon replied. She put her plants down and walked over to it. Reaching out, she gently brushed her fingers over the cool concrete. "Not long ago, actually." She let her eyes rove over the symbol, taking in the twists and turns and curves that eventually created the letter 'V'. Looking down at the inside of her wrist, she looked at the same letter that was imprinted on her skin. At least with the wall the paint would wash off at some point. "To prove it was our territory."

"Your territory?" Kimberly repeated.

Avalon nodded. "More often than not gang violence is usually because of turf wards. If another gang tries to get into our territory, we have to do everything we can to keep them out." Her eyebrow twitched. "Now you understand how I fight so well, yeah?" She chuckled. "I'm not at any martial arts or gymnast status like you lot are, but I come good."

Kimberly nodded. She continued to look over the wall at all of the graffiti that had been spray painted on there, covering everything underneath it. She had always found the spray paint to be romantic in a way. Someone could confess their love with it, anonymously if they wanted. Some of the more profound and existential thoughts came from people spray painting on walls. She vaguely remembered the year before where they had used the clean up club to clean the park with as many students from Angel Grove as she could. It was the same day she, Jason, and Tommy had been seen morphing on a news camera and almost had their identities revealed on national TV if Bulk and Skull hadn't managed to mess things up, like they always did.

She remembered how disappointed and sad she was to see that there had been so much vandalism and litter thrown around the park. _I think I may have cleaned up this wall before…before I knew her. I said she was a disgusting horrible person that couldn't have cared about anything if she could do something like this._ Kimberly turned to look at Bailey, who was cheerfully digging a hole into the ground and putting a plant inside. _But that's obviously not true._

"Hey Av," she said suddenly. "May I ask you something?"

"If it has anything to do with the Vipers then no," Avalon said shortly. "Frankly it's the last thing I want to talk about."

"That's not it." Kimberly shook her head. She crossed her arms and turned to the orange ranger, studying the side of her face. Avalon continued to stare hard at the wall in front of her, as if she were in a trance, haunted by her own decisions. "What you said in the car…you've dated before…" Avalon nodded. "It was Chase wasn't it? He was your boyfriend?"

Avalon started. Her eyes widened for a second then she slowly turned to look at the pink ranger. "How'd you know?"

"It makes sense," Kimberly said. She played with her fingers, twisting them together. "From what you've told us about him…he was the one that brought you in, he took you under his wing, and he pays that much attention to you. Then I thought about the time that he had come to the school and when Trini and I had bumped into him at the mall. I thought there was something weird about it…but the way he looks at you—"

"—we used to date," Avalon interrupted. For the first time she looked uncomfortable, as if she didn't want to talk about it. "Not for long, long enough so that I really got to know him. He can be nice, but he can be as sadistic as the most evil person you could ever know. He can be scary, but whatever he believes in, whoever is working with him he's loyal to." She scratched the back of her neck. "Unless, of course, you piss him off, yeah?" She gave a humorless laugh. "You know you're the only one that I've told that too. No one else knows."

Kimberly looked surprised. "You haven't told Billy?" Avalon shook her head. "But…you two are so close…"

"Yeah, well, he worries about me enough that it gets on my last freaking nerve and I think that telling him I used to date the guy of whom I'm at every beck and call might give him a heart attack." Avalon then paused. "I haven't told any of the guys."

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you only ask about Billy?"

Kimberly looked away for a moment. "Like I said, you and Billy are so close. Apart from Trini I don't think I've ever seen anyone get so close to him so quickly." She then smiled. "Which is great, because he always feels like he's left out. I mean, Tommy, Jason, and Zack are so athletic and it's not always what he's been into."

"I reckon." Avalon didn't sound convinced. She continued to stare hard at the pink ranger, who had started to walk down the rest of the concrete wall, looking to see what else had been spray painted on it. "Though I can't particularly say that it was the best decision I ever made."

"Well, no one knows what decision is good until they see the outcome right?" Kimberly replied. A small smile slid onto her face when she spotted a heart that was spray painted onto the wall with some initials in the middle of it. "Aww, that's so cute!"

"Sure, if you're into that sort of thing," Avalon agreed, walking over.

"Ever girl is into 'that sort of thing', Av," Kimberly said. "No matter how hard you try to hide it. It's romantic! It's sweet. Having someone you love write it out for everyone to see…for everyone to know how much you love them. It's probably the best thing."

Avalon made a humming sound but didn't reply. A sudden chill rolled down her spine and she looked around the park, trying to see what it was that was out of place. Her intuition never led her astray, so what was it? There were a few kids playing around, Bailey was still planting the flowers (more likely dreaming about Fred), runners were making laps around the park. She could hear the laughter of kids, the chirping of birds, and reveled in the feeling of the warm sun that bore down on her. And yet, she couldn't help but feel cold.

Kimberly turned back to face the shorter ranger, eyes filled with hesitation. "Since you told me your secret…can I tell you mine?"

Avalon nodded. "Of course," she said gently.

"OK." Kimberly took a deep breath. "Tommy and I…we're thinking of…." She twisted her fingers together, gently biting her lower lip. Avalon's eyebrows furrowed and Kimberly stuck her head out towards her, giving a more pointed look. "You know….doing it."

"Oh." Avalon nodded. "You mean to have a naughty." Kimberly gave her a bewildered glance. "Have sex. It's just…slang…" she reached up, scratching her forehead. Kimberly reached out a hand and slapped it over Avalon's mouth, shushing her. Chuckling, Avalon pushed her hand away. "Oh calm down. Geez, you yanks are really sensitive about this sort of thing aren't you?" She placed a hand on her chest. "We're kind of laid-back about that sort of thing."

"Well," Kimberly started. "I figured…you seem kind of experienced and—"

"Nice!" Avalon said, slightly offended. She reached out and lightly hit Kimberly on the arm, causing the pink ranger to giggle. "Most people would take offence to that; lucky for you I'm not doing my block." Again, Kimberly had a confused look. "I'm not angry. Geez, you guys need a dictionary."

"Or you need to speak English," Kimberly replied.

Avalon laughed.

"But I really do need some advice," Kimberly continued. She turned and rested her back against the concrete wall, crossing her legs as she did so. She looked kind of sad, if not overly anxious. "How do we even talk about it? He kind of brought it up before and we moved on from that. But now that it's an option—"

"Do you love Tommy?" Avalon swiftly interrupted.

Kimberly looked affronted. "Of course."

"Do you ever question whether or not you love him?"

"No."

"Then I don't see how you need my advice for it," Avalon said honestly. She waved her hands. "Especially considering I don't want to be anywhere near it while this whole thing goes down." Kimberly giggled again. "All I can say, mate, is if you feel that it's the right time and you love him…then go for it." She held up a finger, pointing at Kimberly. "And for the record, I wouldn't know."

Her cheek twitched as she lowered her hand.

Just one more thing she had to remember to keep quiet about.

 _At this point I'm keeping more secrets than I can ever remember,_ Avalon thought with a weary sigh. She turned back to her sister, who had started on another plant. "Think we should help her out soon? I don't want her doing all the work. Having her mind on something other than the shovel in her hand is bound to have a serious trip to the hospital."

"And people there are starting to recognize you every time you go in," Kimberly added.

Avalon lunged for the pink ranger and she let out a shrieking laugh, darting out of the way. She went over to the purple ranger and fell to her knees, starting to dig through the ground to help Bailey. Avalon smiled, gently shaking her head as she watched the two.

At least some of them were happy.


	18. Plans

**Chapter 18**

_Plans_

* * *

 

"And watch! I can do this too!"

Kimberly beamed as her hands started to glow a light pink and she waved her hands up into the air. A mini tornado started to swirl around her and Tommy, kicking up a little bit of sand as they walked across the beach, the lake to their left. It continued to swirl around, following the direction of her hand movements. Eyes shining with excitement, Kimberly looked up at Tommy, who was grinning back at her.

"That's great, Kim," he said. "You're really starting to get a hold on your powers now."

"It's so cool," Kimberly agreed. She made a sharp movement, putting her hands down, and the wind increased sending sand in all directions. She covered her face with her hands as sand rained down on her. The wind finally, completely died down and she slowly lowered her arms, coughing. "Ok, that's so not cool," she said.

Tommy chuckled as he brushed off his own clothes then helped Kimberly brush the sand out of her hair. "It seems to me that you need a little more practice."

"Shut up."

Tommy laughed and brought his hand down to hers, looping his fingers between hers. As they strolled along, the beach Tommy looked out over the water. He wished everyday could stay like that, he mused. Where everything was sunny and bright and there wasn't a care in the world. But there was always a care, a monster attack, something with their powers failing, even if it was something one of them had to worry about. He couldn't stop thinking about Jason resorting to taking steroids just because he was worried about not being strong enough after having being beaten by the High-Flyers, how Zack wasn't happy to be put on the football team only because his father pressured him into it, how Trini's parents were being so hard on Billy, how Billy was pressuring himself to find out anything and everything he could about 'the power' and what always seemed to elude them, what was going on with Avalon and Bailey, what was going on with him and Kim…

He never thought there would ever be a snag in his and Kim's relationship and all because he had a big mouth; things were kind of weird between the two of them. Yes, he had made himself prepared, just in case the time came, but they still hadn't been able to talk about it, it was too awkward. And besides, it wasn't something he was ever good at talking about anyway, his feelings about anything. It was hard and foreign to him; he never liked to open himself up to that sort of vulnerability if he didn't have to.

"Why do you think Jase hasn't gotten his powers yet?" Kimberly asked.

Tommy glanced down at her, and then tilted his head back as he thought about it. He _was_ the only one that hadn't gotten a power….besides himself. What was it that was keeping the two of them from being able to help everyone? Avalon got hers first, which, in a way, made sense as it had come from the extra abilities she had. Then it was Billy, then Trini, Kim, and then Zack. No one could understand what it was that had them take on the power until the time it was needed, just like them getting their power rangers power in the first place. Zordon always said they were destined for it that something in 'The Power' had chosen all of them. But he had been an evil ranger first, what did that mean for him?

"Tommy?" Kimberly's voice brought him back to attention. He looked down at her and noticed she was staring up at him. "Tommy, are you OK?"

"Yeah, Beautiful, I'm fine." Tommy leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I was just thinking." He put his arm around her shoulders and they continued to walk on.

They went up the beach and back before leaving the lake and going back home. Tommy dropped Kimberly off first, and then drove to his own house, greeting his mother and father as he took off his shoes and left them by the front door.

"Hey Tommy," Mr. Oliver replied.

"Hi honey," Mrs. Oliver called back from the kitchen. Tommy followed her voice to the kitchen and sat down at a stool. He watched his mother as she prepared dinner. "How was your day today?"

Tommy shrugged, snatching a piece of celery when she wasn't looking. "School is school," he replied. "There's only so much school you can take, y'know?" He flashed a charming smile. "Classes and teachers, I think they get tired of seeing us as much as we get tired of seeing them." He chomped down on the piece of celery. "And I think they should stop giving us homework if they get so tired of having to grade it."

Mrs. Oliver looked at her husband, who was sitting at the kitchen table, above her son's head. "You see, this is what happens when we give him too much freedom," she joked. "He starts to get all of these ideas…"

"Better than being completely scatter-brained," Tommy reminded her. He ran a hand through his long hair. "I can't believe I used to lose everything and constantly forget where I was going," he said. "But ever since coming here, things have gotten better."

"That's good to hear, honey," Mrs. Oliver said. "By the way, Avalon called for you and asked that you call her back as soon as you get in."

"Alright." Tommy leaned over and grabbed the phone that was sitting in the corner of the counter. He punched in the Cranstons' number and put the up to his ear. It rang a couple of times and then he heard Avalon's voice come over the phone. "Hey, Av, Mom said that you called earlier?"

"Yeah, I did," Avalon replied. "Y'see, Fred asked Bailey out on a date," she explained. "And Bailey was wondering if you and Kim would go along with them…kind of like chaperones, I guess. To make sure that things go smoothly or to take the pressure off, I guess."

"Why don't you go with her?" Tommy asked.

There was a long pause on Avalon's end of the phone. Tommy pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed it back once more, waiting for her to say something. "I already have plans," she replied in a subdued voice.

Tommy sighed heavily and glanced at his parents before getting off the stool and walking out of the room. "Av, if you're going to—"

"I'm not going to do anything," Avalon interrupted. "It's just that I already have plans that I can't miss. Otherwise I'd be glad to take my sister out on her first date." Her voice then lowered and Tommy wasn't sure if she was still speaking to him or speaking to herself. "She really looks up to you, you know. And I want to thank you for everything you've done to help her out whenever I couldn't….you and Kim, really."

"It's no problem, Av," Tommy replied. He checked over his shoulder to be sure his parents weren't listening to him. He went up the stairs to his room, closing the door behind him. "We're glad to help out whenever we can, but you know that she really misses being able to spend time with you."

There was another pause. "Really?"

"Yeah, she talks about it sometimes, when we're practicing martial arts and stuff," he explained. "She really does miss being able to just spend time with you and hang out and now have to worry about anything."

"Yeah, well, when we were living on our own we had plenty of time for that when I wasn't too busy trying to get money," Avalon replied. She sounded a little bitter. "The funny thing is…I think that when we were living on our own we were closer, but now that we met all of you guys…" she trailed off and then gave a humorless laugh. "Wow, that sounds really bitter," she realized.

"Don't worry about it, Av," Tommy reassured her. "You're just trying to be a good sister to her. It must be hard to have to let go a little, to have her make her own friends and everything." He suddenly had a strange thought. Maybe it wasn't that she was afraid of Bailey making new friends. Maybe it was that she was afraid of Tommy and Kim trying to replace her as a brother and sister to her. The Mitchell sisters had been on their own for three years, giving them a greater bond than any siblings he had known. She obviously cared a lot about her well-being, especially considering she had become a ranger, more likely, to save her sister, who had been attacked by the candy monster when she first arrived. "Av?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that all of us want what's best for your sister, right?" Tommy licked his lips. "Not just me and Kim. And if you feel that we're overstepping our boundaries or anything—"

"—you're not," Avalon swiftly interrupted. "Don't worry."

"Well, if you're sure—"

"I am!" Avalon let out another short breath. "Look, I have to go. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"Well, we'll see you at movie night, right?" Tommy pressed. "We're having it at Kim's place this time."

"I'll be there," Avalon agreed. She didn't sound nearly as rushed this time. In fact, there was a hint of…something in her voice; he couldn't exactly tell what it was. "I promise. I'll see you later. Hoo roo."

"Bye." Tommy hung up the phone and dropped it onto his desk.

He walked over to his bed and flopped down onto his back, bringing an arm up and resting it over his eyes. He felt for Avalon, he really did. Who knew how hard it would have been, the kind of the responsibility she had to take care of her sister when it was probably really hard for her to take care of herself in that time as well? It was no wonder she had immediately turned to the Vipers for help. They probably _were_ the only ones that had showed some humility and hospitality for her. She had done everything she thought was supposed to be right to help her out and instead…she had found trouble following her everywhere she went.

 _What would I do if I was in that situation?_ Tommy thought. He had always wanted siblings and every now and then he wondered what it would be like if he wasn't' an only child. Would they be the kind of siblings that got along or the kind that would have tortured each other whenever they got the chance? He did find himself lonely, growing up, and knew he was put into as many activities as way to deal with the social interaction if not just to get him to calm down so much. He had always wanted to ask his mother why they didn't adopt another child, but she always changed the subject or just plain refused to answer.

Maybe it hurt just as bad as knowing she couldn't naturally bear children. Tommy brought his hands down to rest on his power morpher. His fingers gently moved over the raised bumps and ridges that made the shape of a white tiger. Would he have been able to do the same thing? If he had a little brother or sister that was a ranger as well, would he be able to handle it? It was already hard enough, being the leader of the team. He not only worried about the well-being of the Angel Grove residents, but about the other rangers while in battle. Hearing their cries of pain, watching them de-morph, was some of the hardest things he ever had to go through. And while he understood that teamwork was the key and that they would only succeed if they were all fighting together, sometimes he wished he could do things himself, like Jason had when he had tried to save Tommy.

 _Huh._ Tommy started to smile. Out of everyone it was like Jason was already his brother.

In fact, all of the rangers were like brothers and sisters to him.

Except Kim, of course.

* * *

 

"Mom, Dad, I'm going to Kim's house now," Trini called as she bounded down the stairs.

"Trini, before you go, there's something we need to talk to you about," Mrs. Kwan said. She came scurrying out of the kitchen and into the foyer. Gently grasping her daughter's arm, she turned her from the door and walked her back to the living room where Mr. Kwan sat on the couch, waiting for the two of them.

"It sounds serious," Trini remarked. She allowed her mother to take her to the living room and sit her down in a chair, facing her parents as they sat across from her. "Is everything OK?" She tried to keep her face neutral, waiting for them to say something else about Billy. From studying their faces though, it didn't appear to be of that subject. "Is everything OK?"

"Vien." Mrs. Kwan nudged her husband and tilted her head over towards her daughter.

"Trini, your mother and I have been talking and we realized that we haven't been able to immerse you into our culture very much," Mr. Kwan said, clasping his hands together. "We've been able to explain some things to you, there are some customs that you do follow, but then we feel that you don't understand the other ones that we try to show you."

Trini slowly nodded. She knew what this was about now. It had to do with the arranged marriage thing they had brought up before. She thought they had given up on that. Didn't they see that she was happy with Billy and that she didn't want to worry marriage now? She was still young; she had plenty of time to think about things like that. _Next thing I know they're going to try and tell me when I'm supposed to have a baby._

"And we've come to the conclusion that we would like you to get a chance to be able to see these things for yourself," Mrs. Kwan said.

Trini blinked. Something slowly wormed its way through her, anxiety, worry…"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Trinity,"—Mr. Kwan hardly ever used Trini's complete first name, in fact, she was sure her friends didn't know it was her full name—"That soon we're going to be leaving Angel Grove and going to Vietnam, so you can see what the culture is like first hand."

Trini nodded. "That sounds like a fun trip," she agreed. "When are we going?"

Mr. and Mrs. Kwan exchanged a glance. "As soon as possible," Mr. Kwan replied. "I'm going to be able to take some vacation time from work soon and that would be enough time to go and see everything we want to see."

Trini didn't know what to say. Her father had more vacation time stored up from work than she could ever begin to imagine, even if he was sick he refused to take off from work. He probably had a couple of month's worth of time devoted to this plan already. On one hand, going to Vietnam would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, it would give her a chance to see where she came from, the different customs they had, to see her parents' relatives, to see how they grew up, how they lived. But on the other hand, she had too much to lose by being a ranger. It wasn't like she could constantly teleport back and forth from Vietnam to Angel Grove whenever there was a problem. How would she be able to hold onto both of those duties?

That's what bothered the most; she didn't want to disappoint anyone. She could tell that her parents were doing this for her, that they wanted her to be able to understand where hey coming from with a lot of the things they were trying to teach her and while she didn't agree to all of it, they still deserved her respect and to at least give them a chance.

"Doesn't that sound great?" Mr. Kwan added. "Just the three of us, being able to see where our people came from and experiencing everything they do on a daily basis."

"That sounds great," Trini agreed. She smiled at her parents. Parts of her really were excited about it, but another, greater part of her was numb and confused, not sure what she was going to do. But still…she didn't get a feeling of deceit or ill intentions from her parents. They must really want this for her.

Trini scratched the back of her neck. "Um, can we talk about this more later? I'm going to be late meeting my friends."

"Take all the time you need," Mr. Kwan insisted as he stood up. "In fact, I'll push back your curfew for an hour. Have fun." He held up a finger. "But, we're going to need to talk about this more. Talk to your teachers and everything…see if you can get your homework sent to you while you're away. Maybe you can even give a presentation or something when you get back." He gave his only daughter a gentle hug. "This will be something you'll never forget, Trini; I know you're going to have a great time."

Trini smiled and nodded. She gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled on her jacket before heading out the door. She climbed behind the driver's seat of the car and slammed the door shut behind her. Turning on the car, she headed out to Kim's house.

As she went from her part of the city and into Kim's she couldn't help but notice the way the houses got more and more extravagant as she went. They were filled with families where the kids were essentially allowed to do whatever they wanted when they wanted and the only obligation they had was to show up at the country club whenever the time came. She couldn't help but feel a little bitter; she tried her hardest not to compare her life to her best friend's as they were growing up. She saw all the cute dresses and accessories that Kim managed to collect over the years, causing her closet to nearly explode each time she came back with a new shopping bag.

It wasn't fair sometimes.

Trini pushed the thoughts out of her head as she pulled up into the long driveway of the Hart house—or maybe it was a mansion. She parked her car next to Tommy's and went into the house, being directed into the basement by Mrs. Hart, who was as happy to see Trini as ever. She treated Trini like her own daughter and while, most of the time, Trini was happy with the hospitality; it made her wonder why her parents couldn't be like that either.

Trini went down into the basement and smiled at her friends. "Hey guys," she greeted them.

"Hey Trini," Kimberly greeted her best friend. She bounced across the room and threw her arms around the yellow ranger in a big hug. "You're just in time. I was just getting my butt kicked in ping-pong." She waved her paddle for emphasis before pressing it into Trini's palm. "You're going to be on my team."

"No way!" Zack protested. He gestured to Trini with his own paddle. "She's the best at ping-pong, no one can beat her."

"Yeah, even if all of us were playing against her at once, we'd still lose," Jason added.

"Which is why she's on my team." Kimberly stuck her tongue out at her friends and they started to laugh.

"C'mon Kim, it would be detrimental to the rest of us if we shared Trini's talents with the game," Billy said diplomatically.

Tommy laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's just his way of saying that he's not going to share his girlfriend." He ruffled Billy's hair as the blue ranger blushed, though he laughed as well. "I don't blame you, if it ever came to a shopping competition, then I wouldn't let any of you guys steal Kim from me."

As Kimberly passed him, she whacked him on the arm with her paddle. Jason snickered along With Zack. "I hope you mean that for everything, dude, or else she's going to be pissed." He smacked the ping-pong ball against the table and started a volley with the white ranger.

As they batted the ball back and forth, Trini grabbed a handful of pretzels from a bowl and sat down with Zack on the back of the leather couch. She leaned over and looked through the videos that he was flipping through, trying to find the perfect one for them to watch. There was the sound of thudding footsteps coming down the stairs and the orange and purple rangers walked through the basement.

Bailey was patting down her hair, trying to get the fly-aways to tame themselves. "Next time, Av, we're going to take Billy's offer of driving here."

"What'd you do?" Jason joked. "Run with her over your shoulder?" He brought his arm back and swung it forward as hard as he could, to hit the ball, nearly taking off Billy's head as his arm swung forward. "Woops, sorry man."

"That's alright," Billy replied sarcastically. "What's one massive contusion on the side of my face just as long as you're able to win the game?" He glanced at Trini and smirked at her before turning his attention back to Zack. Moving a hand behind his back, it started to glow blue and a tiny puddle of water appeared on the floor by Jason's foot. Tommy shot the ball back at Jason and as the red ranger lunged towards the other side of the table to get the ball; he slipped in the water and fell into a split before falling over.

The ball harmlessly bounced off the table and rolled to the floor.

"Yes!" Tommy cheered, throwing his hands into the air.

"Nice one!" Zack added.

"Great job." Kimberly laughed and gave her boyfriend a high-five as Jason pulled himself off the floor.

Jason laughed sarcastically as he gave a mock-glare over at the blue ranger, who looked back at him innocently. "OK, I kind of deserved that," he said, brushing off his jeans. Trini giggled, holding a hand up to cover his mouth.

"Think of it this way, Jay, now we know that you can do a split just as easily as Kim can," Avalon said a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Trini turned to her to agree then her eyes immediately moved to the healing gash above her forehead.

"What happened to you?" The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself as all eyes turned to the orange ranger. If Avalon appeared scared of the attention, she didn't show it. Bailey, on the other hand, lowered her gaze and went over to sit on the couch, gently kicking her legs back and forth. "Are you OK?"

"Whoa." Zack looked at her in concern. "Did you get into a fight with a baseball bat or something?"

"Close," Avalon replied, giving a hint of a smile. "I fell out a window."

"You fell out a window?" Tommy repeated. He didn't sound convinced. In fact, Trini thought it was one of the most far-fetched lies she had ever heard….unless it was the truth.

"Yes," Avalon insisted. "I fell out of a window…while trying to get out of someone's house." She said the rest of her sentence so quickly that the other rangers barely had a chance to hear it, but they heard it clearly.

"Oh Av," Kimberly said. "You didn't."

Avalon waved her off, but the subject wouldn't be dropped.

"You know your parole officer—"Jason started to say.

"I _know_ what my parole officer would say, boofhead," Avalon interrupted. "I know the consequences if I get caught. Jail time, most likely. Especially considering I'd be breaking my probation." She waved her hands into the air. "Ooh, I'm so scared." She placed her hands on her hips. "Sorry, but there are more important things in the world." She looked over at her sister, who continued to look away from her.

"Don't even bother," Billy insisted. "It's like talking to a brick wall, she's so stubborn."

 _Maybe that's a good thing,_ Trini thought. _Standing up for what you believe in all the time. Knowing what's right for you no matter what everyone else says._

"And I take pride in that," Avalon said. She rooted through a bowl of candy and picked out a ring pop, quickly opening it and sticking it into her mouth. "So what move are we watching?"

"But Av—"Kim started.

"Just drop it," Avalon interrupted. "Let's just watch the movie, OK?" She snatched the video box out of Zack's hand and looked over it. She barely glanced at the title before she turned and shoved it into the tape player. She sat on the floor and scooted back until she hit the bottom of the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees, as if cutting herself off from the rest of the world.

Trini knew exactly how she felt.


	19. First Date

**Chapter 19**

_First Date_

* * *

 

Bailey tapped the tip of her pen against her notebook as she watched her English teacher continue to pace back and forth in front of the class, explaining the lesson for that day. It wasn't that the teacher was a bad teacher; it was that Bailey wasn't particularly good in English. The point of English was to be able to understand grammar and how to make sentences and tell stories with the words that were learned over the course of a person's life.

However, she was always being told that she had to use smaller words and that her thought process was never perfectly straight. That was the point of being a scientist; she tried to explain to them. Everything she studied was never one thing that went on a straight and narrow path, every experiment she had ever tired, every science project she had ever done had a lot of failure before she had success.

 _Too bad everything can't be as easy as that,_ Bailey thought. Dropping her left hand to her lap, her fingers brushed over her power morpher. She couldn't help but smile as she thought about her new powers. She definitely wasn't on the martial arts level as the other rangers, or as much of a strong fighter as Avalon was, even if she used her fist more than she used her head. Why would Zordon and Alpha wasn't someone as young as her to join the team? Hopefully she had something they thought would help out; at this point she still didn't understand why she was there.

She hadn't even made a lot of progress on the zords yet. There was a lot of water damage to their structure as well as to the circuitry inside. She had managed to save some of the wires and coils from corroding, and was currently trying to think of different ways to make sure the diagnostics would come back clean and that the weapons weren't too structurally damaged by the buffeting winds and water that had come from the Aquarius monster. She had to give Rita and Zedd some props; they were doing a great job of keeping them preoccupied. The horoscope monsters were clearly not the strongest they had ever gone against, but it was doing a good job of having them run around so much.

"That's all for class today," the teacher then said as the bell rang. "You are dismissed."

Bailey glanced up at the teacher. Where had the time gone? She closed the cap of her pen and gathered her things together, tucking her books into her backpack and slinging them up over her shoulders as she went. Her eyes then trained on the girl in front of her, recognizing the letterman jacket of a High-Flyers member. It had been months since that girl first put it on and she hadn't taken it off since. _She must really want to get into that group,_ Bailey realized. She reached up and scratched the back of her head, gently tilting it to the side as she streamed out of the class.

She understood her sisters reasoning to get mixed up with the Vipers— in fact, she felt guilty about it a lot—but what was it that had that young girl wanting to get in? Did she have an older boyfriend in the gang? A family member? Did she just want attention? Had she gotten jumped-in? She remembered how screwed up Avalon's face was the first day she had gotten back from getting jumped in herself. Bailey had become very scared, watching as she continuously went through pain after that. Now she was starting to be more like herself, having found the rangers.

Bailey did think that the rangers saved them in some way; she just wished they had come sooner. _Maybe then I wouldn't have felt like I was just getting in her way._

"Bailey?"

Bailey lifted her head and looked over at Fred, jumping slightly at his sudden appearance. He smiled at her, chuckling. Bailey reached out and shoved him not he arm, nearly knocking him into the row of lockers that they were walking by. "Don't do that!" She said with a light laugh. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Fred tilted his head back and laughed. "You're just too easy to scare, Bay," he teased her. "I could probably call your name all the way up until I get to you and you'd still freak out." He then appeared nervous. "Unless you have a lot on your mind?" He pressed. "Um…about our date…tonight…?"

"Not really," Bailey replied. Fred blinked and looked away. _God, Bay, that was such a stupid thing to say,_ he thought. "No! I didn't mean it like that. I mean…I think about you a lot." Fred looked at her again and she slapped her free hand over her mouth, face turning red. "Not that I…think about _you_ a lot. I mean, that I…uh, I think….yeah…." she finished lamely, her face enflaming even more.

Fred, thankfully, didn't tease her about her slipup. He had started to blush himself, though laughed quietly at her nervousness. "Well, speaking of that," he said. "I could come get you at eight or so, if that's OK with you."

"It's…beauty," Bailey replied. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Actually, if you don't mind…Tommy and Kim are going to be going with us." She then started to speak rapidly. "They don't have to come if you don't want them there. I just thought it'd be a good idea because they can drive and they could take us to…the fair or something and I just thought—"

"Bay, its fine!" Fred interrupted her, holding up his hands. She tucked her hair behind her ear, looking at her feet. "Relax." He shrugged into his backpack, slightly turning away from her. "Actually, I think having them along is a good idea. I really don't mind." He cleared his throat, looking at his watch. "Um, I have to get going, my Dad needs some help at home for a while, but…I can come get you at, like, eight?"

Bailey smiled and nodded, holding her books against her chest. "Yeah, that's fine," she agreed and started to back away, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. "I have to get going, but I'll see you later, yeah?" She waved and quickly turned on her heel, walking away.

Fred waved after her.

* * *

 

"So what are your plans for tonight now that Bailey's going out on a date?" Billy asked Avalon, backing away from his computer and moving over to the large, metal table filled with beakers and various chemicals in the middle of the garage.

"I don't know," Avalon replied. She spun a glass beaker in her hand. "Follow them maybe?" An evil grin slid onto her face. "I can move fast enough so that they wouldn't even notice I was there." Billy gave her a disapproving look and she shrugged. "It was just an idea, Smurf. Besides, I have too much fun doing that with you and Sunny whenever she's over here." Billy made a noise of protest and Avalon laughed, tossing the beaker over to him. He caught it against his chest and carefully placed it on the edge of the table. "What are you doing anyway?"

"I'm trying to see if there's a way that we can figure out how to keep our zords from getting so much water damage," Billy replied. He let out a frustrated sigh before picking up a sodder and a blade blaster. "And that's only when I'm not trying to improve the quality of our weapons," he added.

"Do you really think that's needed? I mean, the horoscope monsters don't seem to be doing anything that we can't figure out within a matter of minutes," Avalon reminded him.

Billy frowned as he lowered magnifying glasses over his own glasses, peering into the side of Jason's blade blaster. "The horoscope monsters were strong at first, and that was, admittedly, before we had gotten the powers from the Power Cube," he explained. "Now that we're all starting to get them, the monsters have started to become weaker. That doesn't mean it's only because of us, though. Rita and Zedd would never give us extremely weak monsters if it wasn't that they were up to something. Goldar, as we know, is the strongest one they have and we haven't seen him in a while." He shook his head. "I just have the feeling we're not being told something and I don't want to be caught at the worst time."

"I get what you mean," Avalon agreed. She pulled her hair back behind her shoulders. "I'm going to see how Bay's doing."

"Alright."

Avalon left the garage and went into the house. In the living room she could see David and Lacey sitting on the couch, watching TV. If she had to guess, they were waiting for Bailey as well, to send her off on her first date. Avalon couldn't help but think about her mother as she turned and started up the stairs. Since she had gone back to Australia, they had talked on the phone a few times, but there was still something missing. She still wasn't feeling like a mother they should have, compared to Lacey, who was constantly there for them; making breakfast, lunch, and dinner, doing their laundry, helping with homework if Billy ever made things too complicated, everything she could to make sure the girls felt they were at home.

 _I think she's just as excited,_ Avalon thought, smiling a little. Coming up to hers and Bailey's room, she knocked on the door before going inside. Bailey turned away from the mirror, hesitantly tugging at the bottom of her skirt. "Do I look OK?" she asked.

"Beauty," Avalon replied, closing the door behind her and sitting down.

Bailey pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're just saying that."

"No, I'm not," Avalon insisted. Picking up a brush from their dresser, she moved behind her sister and started to carefully brush the back of her hair. "If I was, it would've sounded a lot more insincere, yeah?" Bailey giggled and Avalon smiled, continuing to brush her hair. She paused, looking at the back for a minute, and then put the brush back down on the dresser. "Actually, I think this would look better." She went over to her side of the room and went to the drawer. She pushed past a couple of odds and ends before finding a hair scrunchie. "I know it's not your color…"

Moving back over to her sister, she stood behind her and quickly tied it back into a French braid, securing it with a large, orange scrunchie. She then moved back to her sister's front and studied the small amount of makeup that she had put on. Bailey gave a nervous smile, once again asking her sister how she looked.

"Ace!" Avalon replied, giving the a-OK signal.

Bailey beamed. The smile slid off her face the second the doorbell rang. She looked stricken and turned back to the mirror, running her hands over her clothes and making sure her hair was perfect. Rather than going down to greet Fred herself, Avalon sat down on her bed and watched as Bailey continued to fuss with her clothes. Finally, Bailey turned back to the orange ranger and gave a small smile.

"I'll see you later," she said.

"Bye." Avalon gave her an encouraging smile and followed her from the room. She stood at the top of the stairs, leaning against the banister. She watched as Bailey went down the stairs then stood next to Lacey as she finished up her conversation with Fred. David and Billy were standing a little bit behind Lacey, but were showing their support as well.

"Hi…Bailey," Fred said after a second of silence. He smiled warmly at her. "You look great."

"Thanks." Bailey tucked her hair behind her ear before clasping her hands behind her back, gently twisting back and forth. "So…are you ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm ready." He turned back to the Cranstons and Avalon. "Bye everybody."

"Bye," Bailey added before leaving the house, closing the door behind her.

David turned back to his family, and then noticed Avalon at the top of the stairs. "You're not going to follow her?" He joked. "That's sort of what an older sibling is for."

Avalon's lips twitched. "That's why Tommy's going," she replied. Pushing herself from the banister she went back to her room, flopping down onto her bed and picking up the book that lay on top of her nightstand and started to read.

Billy knocked on the doorframe before poking his head around the door. He gave her a gentle smile. "Something tells me this is really bothering you."

Avalon barely glanced at him over the top of her book. "I don't know what you're talking about, Smurf."

"Your body language suggests that you're either not comfortable with the idea of your sister dating or that there's something else that's manifesting anxiety in you," Billy continued. He looked over his shoulder before entering the room, sitting down on the end of her bed. "And if it has something to do with the Vipers, I'd rather know now than find out later," he added, lowering his voice.

The orange ranger lowered her book and regarded Billy with what she hoped was an innocent glance. "I'm just lying here." She glanced at her sister's side of the room. "And I appreciate the fact that you're wondering about the Vipers and everything, but at this point, I'm really close to getting out." So that wasn't the complete, one hundred percent truth. But Chase hadn't really needed her for anything as of late and they did have that deal. _Though, knowing him, he'd probably backstab me faster than he'd give up his own ass._ "It's just going to take some time and, frankly, I'm sick and tired of you guys putting so much pressure on me."

If Billy was offended, he didn't show it. "You have to admit, the way that you go about things most of the time isn't ideal for us not to be worried." He pointed at her eyebrow. "Case in point, that gash over your forehead." Avalon scowled. "You know I'm right."

"Why do you think I'm scowling?" Avalon replied. She closed her book and put it aside. She wasn't really reading it anyway. "It also sucks how fast Bay is growing up…and because of the Vipers I haven't really been able to see it." She rubbed the back of her neck, eyes downcast. "I don't know...I feel like I really mucked up in that aspect."

"You've been taking care of her for three years, Av," Billy reminded her. "And she turned out just fine."

"Yeah, but as a mother, not really as a sister." Avalon turned away from him. "And, to be honest, sometimes I wonder if I should've sent her back home instead of having her get dragged into every stupid thing I've done." Her face fell. "Like, if things would've turned out differently."

"She wouldn't be a ranger."

"She wouldn't be in danger all the time."

"All of us are aware of the things we had to sacrifice when we agreed to become rangers."

"Thanks, Smurf, but the last thing I need right now is a lecture." Avalon brought a hand up to her mouth and started to gently chew on her fingernails. It was a habit that she had broken back when she was in kindie and now that she had so much pressure on her, she had started it up again. Many times she felt that her head was actually going to explode less she had a complete mental breakdown first.

Billy gave her a warm smile. "Then how about some ice cream?" He suggested. "My treat. We can get out of here and just hang out for a while and talk about something that doesn't have to do with being a ranger." Avalon continued to look at him and he reached out, grabbing onto her arms and pulling her to her feet from the bed. "And no, I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. It has been scientifically proven that eating ice cream releases endorphins and makes you happy."

"Fine." Avalon allowed herself to get pulled out of the room. "But I'm getting the jumbo cone."

* * *

 

"Hey, man." Jason looked up from the set of weights that sat in front of him and nodded over at Zack as he walked into his room. "How's it going?"

Zack sat down in Jason's desk chair and held out his hand. Jason slapped his own palm into Zack's before leaning back. "I'm doing alright, man. I guess." He let out a short laugh. "Actually, I feel really stupid, now that everything's gone down." He shrugged. "I can't be a ranger right now and you guys need me more than ever." He shook his head. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"That's what I wanted to ask you," Zack said slowly. He crossed his arms and rested them on the back of the chair, leaning forward. "Why'd you do it? I mean, ending up in the hospital isn't always a good thing. But we've all been there before." He reached out and smacked Jason on the arm. "Remember when I pulled a groin muscle trying to do that fancy spin?"

Jason chuckled. "Yeah," he agreed. "You kept screaming that you were dying because your balls hurt so badly." He reached up and rubbed his nose. "It was different. I was embarrassed I guess. I mean, I can win all of these tournaments, I teach classes, I beat up Bulk and Skull on nearly a daily basis," he said. His smile faded. "And the one time I was walking back home I get jumped and beaten up by, like, five guys."

"Five guys at _once_ ," Zack reminded him. "And they're dangerous. We all know that now. Even if they hadn't had gotten you with brass knuckles, they may have had a gun or a knife and you'd probably still be in the hospital right now." He rubbed his hands together. "I just…didn't think it'd ever get to the point where'd you take steroids to get ahead. And…I know it was something you were really against, especially since in the martial arts industry it's something you can fall into so easily."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. His father had warned him about that so many times before. When it came to an industry where the focus was on your body, be it martial arts, weight lifting, or fitness in general, there was a good chance that someone could fall into drugs, simply trying to get on the fast track to win. Jason had always said he was against and but something had changed in him while he was in the hospital. Something dark had grabbed a hold of him and wouldn't let go until the first crack had started to form and he took the first dosage of steroids.

Jason grimaced and pulled his gaze away from the weights and turned to his best friend. "Did you know that there's a history of addiction in my family?" He asked. Zack's eyes widened and he shook his head. For the first time in a while, the black ranger didn't have that mask of happiness on his face. "Yeah, I didn't know until Mom and Dad confronted me with the whole thing." He then explained everything that his parents had told him; how they were a military family, how his uncle had gotten into hard drugs, how he was constantly on and off it. As each explanation came from his mouth, the red ranger could see Zack's eyes continuously increase in size until his eyes were wide open.

"Now that I know it could've happened to me…" Jason let to a short breath, shaking his head.

Zack did the same movement. He couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like if Jason had continued to do steroids. He would become ripped, that was for sure, but what would that mean for the rangers? Zordon's and Alpha's worries had been realistic. What would've happened if Jason's rage from the steroids had taken him over? What if his increased strength because of the drugs made it that his ranger strength increased and he hurt everyone around him from a wayward blast?

It was too risky.

He didn't even want to think about it for longer than a minute.

"That was the dumbest move I've ever made," Jason admitted. "And I just hope that when I'm finally able to come back as a ranger that you guys don't lose all faith in me."

"That'll never happen, Jase, you know that," Zack insisted. "You're part of this team and you're always going to be part of the team. You're one of the originals and you're not going to be replaced by anyone."

Jason looked at him, eyebrows furrowing together. "I…didn't think anyone would replace me."

"Isn't that what you thought when Tommy became the white ranger?" Zack watched as Jason barely blushed. But it was enough so that Zack would notice it on his best friend. Sure, Jason had agreed to the idea of Tommy taking over the lead of power rangers at the very beginning. They had needed some help when it came to fighting Rita's and Zedd's monsters and he had come back at a great time. And yet, he could tell from the look in his best friend's eyes, the slight hesitation at having to suddenly take charge that it wouldn't go over well.

He had asked Jason about it so many times before, but the red ranger was good at making sure his emotions weren't put on display. In fact, it annoyed Zack on many occasions where Jason would keep his mouth shut on any situation unless the time called for it. In fact, he couldn't remember ever seeing Jason cry or become completely vulnerable to anyone.

"Tommy becoming the white ranger was something that we needed, "Jason replied. "And if there was anyone that would take over being a leader, then I'm glad it was him."

Zack frowned. It sounded so rehearsed, like he had that answer prepared just in case someone ever questioned him about it. He knew it was the only answer he was going to get and no matter how hard he pressed the topic.

"Anyway, do you want to hang out and watch some TV or something?" Zack changed the subject.

"Yeah, man, that sounds good to me," Jason agreed. He stood up and clapped Zack on the shoulder as the two left the room to go down to the living room. "But let's get some food first, Mom went shopping today so there's a lot of stuff we can have." The two went into the kitchen and Jason started to rummage through the cabinets for chips and dip.

Zack leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, watching him. He was glad Jason was getting better; he just hoped things would go back to normal soon.

* * *

 

Bailey kept her hands in her lap as she focused her attention on her feet. And that was only when she wasn't focusing it on the back of the passenger seat, where Kimberly sat lightly chatting with Tommy. Since Fred had picked her up and the four had gotten into Tommy's jeep there was nothing but silence from the backseat of the car.

Fred and the purple ranger were nervous, not sure how to act or what to say. It wasn't that they hadn't ever had nothing to talk about before, whether it was their science fair project, or talking about putties and Rita and Zedd from the time they had attacked while at school, even to their own families they had something to talk about. Now that they were spending more time together, under the guise of a 'date'…she was a wreck.

And she thought she wouldn't feel that way again since she had a crush on Billy and was rejected by him. That was awkward, this was worse. Before he asked her out she could talk to him about anything and it was fine. Now, for some odd reason, she was scared of what he thought about her.

Fred, on the other hand, wondered if he should say something to lighten the mood. He just wasn't sure what. He looked over at Bailey and saw she was messing with her finger and the end of her skirt. He took a deep breath then reached out a hand and grabbed onto her fidgeting one, holding it steady against his own. Bailey was confused for a moment then she smiled, her uneasiness rubbing away. Still, she didn't look at him. That would be too embarrassing.

Finally, Tommy parked the car in the parking lot of the fair and the four climbed out of the jeep, bought their tickets, and went inside. "Oh, this is so exciting!" Kimberly cried, reaching out and grabbing onto Tommy's arm as her eyes moved around the fair. "Everything looks so much more magical at night."

"Yeah, it really does," Tommy agreed.

Bailey and Fred exchanged a glance and snorted a little. Bailey felt herself loosen up as she looked around at the games to play and rides to go on. She pointed over to a game where you sprayed water into the mouth of a clown. "Ooh! Let's do that one!" She turned to Fred. "Race ya!" The two took off and started running across the fair grounds.

"You're going to have to go faster than that," Fred said as he raced by her. He reached the booth before her, flopping down onto a stool and spinning in a circle, throwing his hands into the air. "Whoo! I won!"

"That's because your legs are longer than mine," Bailey protested, sitting down next to him. "You can cover more ground than I can." She grabbed onto the sides of the water gun. "But you're going to lose at this, trust me."

"No way! I'm awesome at this game!"

"Well, so'm I, mate, so you have yourself some competition."

Fred grinned, turning his attention back to the game as the carnival worker started up the game for them. "Shoot the water into the clown's mouth and first one there wins a prize." He stepped back and an alarm went off. Bailey grabbed the sides of the water gun and angled the water up slightly. She knew that the point of winning was to keep a steady stream in one spot. Even if you slightly moved the water, you'd be fine keeping it in one area. She grinned when the light above her clown had started to go off. "Yes! I won!" She stood up and took the stuffed bear that the carnival worker was handing to her. She turned and waved it in Fred's face. "Ha ha," she sang.

Fred pushed the bear away from him. "Like I wanted to win a stuffed bear anyway."

"I reckon you're bunging on a front because you thought you'd win," Bailey teased him.

Fred shifted his hat on his head. "I would've won it for you, anyway, so I don't see what the big deal is," he replied.

Bailey smiled. Yeah, he was just trying to save face. Turning around she spotted Kimberly and Tommy sitting together on stools, smiling brightly as they got drawn by a caricature artist. She waved to them before she and Fred started to stroll along the games and food stalls. Fred stopped to buy the two of them cotton candy before they went on and sat on a picnic bench, taking time to eat their food.

"So my Dad was really teasing me about this tonight," Fred said. He quickly removed his hat to run a hand through his hair, and then replaced it. "He kept going, 'when's the wedding' and 'have you gotten the ring yet' and stuff like that." He gave a half smile. "I don't know, sometimes I think he really misses Mom. He doesn't ever go out on dates himself."

Bailey could tell from the way he had said that, something had happened to his mother. Did she run out on them? Was she never around? She had never asked before. "What happened?" She gently pressed.

"She died of cancer a long time ago," Fred said matter-of-fact. "So it's just me and my Dad for a while. I keep telling him that I don't mind if he dates, but he says he's fine." He shook his head. "Things between the two of us…he's my best friend, it's awesome to have him around whenever I need him. But he deserves his own life, y'know?"

"You say that now," Bailey said. "But you never know. What if he starts to date a Sheila that you absolutely don't like?"

"Then I'll do my best to let Dad know that he had bad taste in women," Fred laughed. He took another large bite of his cotton candy. "What about you? Do your parents date?"

Bailey let out a long sigh through her nose. That was a long story. She was sure her mother had guys chasing after her, she as beautifully, no doubt about that. It was, in a way, how she had met her father. But that was a big story in itself. How would a man that was so far up in government work explain that he had been cheating on his dying wife and had fathered two kids with that woman while his wife had been sick in bed?

That wasn't something she really wanted to get into at the moment.

"You don't want to talk about it?" He guessed.

Bailey shook her head.

"No problem." Fred stood up, wiping off his clothes, throwing away the stick that had just held his cotton candy. "I'll just beat you at some other game. How about ring toss?"

Bailey smirked, standing up as well. "Just don't come whingeing to me when you lose, mate." She and Fred started across the fair grounds, and then froze when they heard a loud commotion and screaming. Turning around, the two saw a bunch of putties rampaging through the crowd, terrorizing people and throwing their food and prizes everywhere. Behind them was what looked like a mixture of a monster and a human, carrying a bow and arrow.

When the monster would fire the arrow, whatever it would hit would either come alive or go haywire. It hit a popcorn stand, sending burning bits of food raining over the crowd.

"Putties!" Fred cried. "What are they doing here?"

"Better question, mate, why would Rita want to attack a carnival?"

"I don't know, but we better help them."

Fred and Bailey charged forward and started to attack the putties. There was a large group of them, even bigger than the ones that would normally be sent out on patrol. Bailey did her best to fight off each one that came her way. But as soon as she would defeat one, a strike of a fist or foot into the Z-plate in the middle of her chest, another one would jump in her way. A putty grabbed onto her arms and another one grabbed onto her legs.

"Let go of me!" She cried, kicking and thrashing her legs. All of a sudden there was a bright burst of purple-pink light. "Whoa!" The putties threw her to the ground. She twisted in the middle of the air, landing on her feet, stumbling back a little bit. Looking up, she watched as Fred was kicked in the chest and he fell to the ground as well. "Fred!" She hurried to her friend's side, helping him up. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Fred said hastily.

"Hey!" Kimberly and Tommy, already morphed into their ranger suits, raced over to the two of them. "You two better get out of here and get somewhere safe." Kimberly turned and held out her Power Bow, pointing it towards the monster. "Looks like another one of Rita's horoscopes."

"Looks like it," Tommy agreed. He glanced back at Bailey and Fred. "Get out of here, guys."

"Got it." Bailey and Fred got to their feet and started to run along with the crowd to get away from the monster. Bailey stopped and grabbed Fred's arm. "You get these guys out of here; I'll go clear out the other side, yeah?"

"OK!"

Bailey waited, watching as Fred raced off, until he was out of sight. When she was sure she was alone, she ducked behind a stall and looked around, pulling out her power morpher. "It's morphin' time!" She thrust her morpher out in front of her. "Ankylosaurus!" She morphed and hurried back over to Tommy and Kimberly, who had sent the last of the putty patrollers away. "You guys have good timing," she said.

"Looks like that's what we'll need for this one," Tommy agreed, pointing at it. The three watched as the monster continued to fire off bows and arrows. "Hey! You should watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Kimberly got her Power Bow ready as the monster turned around to face them.

"Oh, looks like I've finally found the power rangers!" The monster said. It smiled and waved a hand to itself. "My name is Sagittaria." It pulled back its own bow, aiming it at the three of them. "And I'm pleased to make your acquaintance while you die!" He turned his bow towards the air and let go of it. Bailey watched as the arrows arch up and then explode in the sky, showering down on them faster than she could blink.

She let out a cry of pain as the arrows landed on her arms, helmet, and the ground around her. It burned. She could feel the burning through her suit and through her boots, the grown rapidly increasing in temperature. Beside her, she could hear Tommy and Kimberly crying out in pain as well. The three dove off to the side as Sagittaria readied another round of arrows.

Kimberly quickly brought up her own bow and shot a rapid fire attack back at Sagittaria. He smirked and turned his bow to the side, deflecting some of the arrows aside, though some still struck him in the shoulders. He stumbled back a few steps, but otherwise appeared unharmed. Kimberly turned back to Tommy and Bailey. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Let me try." Before Tommy or Kimberly could stop her, Bailey dive bombed out from behind the stall that covered them and held out her hands. "Ankylo Blaster!" Her large, canon-like gun appeared in her hands and she tightly held onto the handle. "Fire!"

The spikes blaster off of the gun in a blast so large that it caused her to skid back on her feet. No wonder the Ankylosaurus powers were so dangerous and that Zordon and Alpha had been worried about whoever would get to it first. If someone evil had control of these powers, if Rita and Zedd had gotten a hold of them, things would have fallen for them extremely fast.

Sagittaria, once again, used his bow to deflect most of the attacks. What caused the purple ranger to gasp in surprise and fear was when he caught one of the spikes with his bow and pulled back on the string, launching it back at her at twice the speed. It crashed to the ground in front of her and Bailey fell back onto the ground, writing in pain. "Oh bollocks…" she whispered through the pain. "Bloody hell."

"You're mine now, rangers!" Sagittaria pulled at the bow again and another shower of arrows headed their way.

"Power Lance!"

"Power Daggers!"

"Power Axe!"

Hearing a clanging sound, Bailey looked up in time to see Zack and Billy cover her by crossing their power weapons, shielding her from most of the attack. Trini, who was kneeling behind the three of them, spun her daggers around her fingers then threw them at Sagittaria. They struck the front of the bow then flew back at her.

Bailey looked up to see Avalon, morphed into the tyrannosaurus ranger, join the rest of the group as they all grouped together, waiting for the next strike from the monster. "This monster is really strong," Tommy warned them. "I don't know what else we can do, nothing seems to work."

"We have to keep trying," Zack insisted.

"Everyone has a limitation to the extent of their prowess," Billy said, shifting his grip on his Power Axe. "We just have to find this one."

"And hope that it doesn't get any bigger," Trini added.

"Don't jinx it," Avalon remarked. She winced as her power suit distorted, momentarily revealing her in her civilian clothes, before turning back into the tyrannosaurus ranger. "And we better move fast!"

"No!" Kimberly cried. "You don't know what'll happen! You could be destroyed."

"I'll take that chance," Avalon insisted. There was something different about her voice. Something more vicious than any of them had heard before. "Get out of my way!" She shifted the Power Sword so that she was holding onto it with both hands.

She started forward but Zack immediately blocked her. "Av, you can't!" Zack protested, grabbing onto her arm. "Remember what happened last time, you could barely control it."

"We have to try something, mate," Avalon snapped. "If this guy can send out thousands of arrows that can do that,"—she gestured over to what were now the smoking remnants of the popcorn stand—"then think of what it can do to a lot of people," Avalon reminded him. She pulled her arm from his grasp. "You're not going to change my mind on this." She held out her hands. "Power Sword!"

Jason's sword appeared in her hands and she started to charge towards the monster. With every step she took, the shifting between her civilian self and powered up in the suit would shift back and forth. By the time she reached the monster, she was only able to feebly swing the Power Sword at him, still not able to control the tyranno powers. Still, she brought her other hand around. "Fire blast!" A rush of fire rocketed from her fist, smacking Sagittaria directly in the face.

"Great shot, Av!" Trini congratulated her.

Avalon jumped backwards, away from the monster. She gave a thumbs up, chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. _This is taking more out of me than I thought._

"Don't get too excited," Bailey warned. "It's not done yet."

"Let's go, guys!" Tommy gave the call and led the rangers in a massive attack against Sagittaria. They swooped in, attacking the monster from all sides, but he continued to defeat each one, knocking them back and to the side before they came back at him again, much like tennis balls being bounced against a brick wall.

"Let's see how you take this one on!" Sagittaria strung four arrows and fired them all at once. They exploded on the ground in front of the rangers in a massive, fiery explosion, sending the rangers flying. Sagittaria laughed maniacally. "You can't beat me! You might as well sit and wait while I execute you one, by one!"

"Hey Trigger-Happy!" Sagittaria turned around just in time to watch Rocky and Adam fly through the air; feet outstretched, and hit him in the face. He stumbled back as Aisha cart wheeled up and gave him a few hits of her own, her hands and feet flying as she did so, striking him repeatedly. Rocky and Adam joined the battle, hitting Sagittaria from all three sides as he tired his hardest to bring his bow up to protect himself.

"No, get away!" Tommy called. He waved an arm at him. "It's not safe!" He pulled out Saba and extended the length of the sword before charging towards Sagittaria as it had its back turned to him.

"Kiya!" Rocky, Adam, and Aisha all kicked Sagittaria in the face at once, sending him sprawling.

He was a nasty shade of maroon as he got back up, nostrils flaring, chest heaving. "Don't ever get in my way!" He snarled. "You won't live to tell about it!" He readied another set of arrows. Tommy leapt in and slashed his sword around Sagittaria's arm. The blow jerked the monster around as he let go of the bow sending the arrows flying at the rangers.

Bailey gasped, seeing the arrows heading straight for her. She closed her eyes and turned away, only opening them again when she heard a loud cry of pain. Turning back she watched as her big sister leapt in front of her.

Avalon caught the blast in a direct hit, knocking her back against the ground. Rolling, she demorphed, Jason's power morpher skidding across the ground. She lay prone on the ground for a few seconds, the only sound coming from her friends' and sister's cries of terror, before starting to push herself back up. Her hands glowed orange, though a flame couldn't be produced. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha started towards her, and then stopped short.

"Whoa!" Aisha cried, her eyes growing wide. She took another few steps forward and looked down at her. Her eyes rested on the power morpher that lay by her side. "Avalon?"

Adam looked up at the other rangers. "Then you must be…" He and Rocky exchanged glances. There was no one else the other rangers could be. No one but Kimberly, Trini, Billy, Zack, Bailey, and Tommy. "You guys are the power rangers?"

"No way," Rocky added. The rangers looked at each other as he, Adam, and Aisha moved closer to them. "You're the power rangers? Really? All of you." He let out a laugh of disbelief before looking down at the ground. He had stepped on something. Bending down, he picked up Jason's power morpher. "What's this?"

All of a sudden there was a bright flash of red light and when it faded, a second morpher was in Rocky's right hand. This one was a bit of a duller gray than Jason's morpher, though it held the same power coin in the center.

"A new morpher," Trini said. "But…that's impossible."

"What about Jase?" Kimberly added.

"It's a copy," Billy said. He examined the morpher himself. "Zordon and Alpha or The Power must have the ability to copy our powers if there's ever a time where we can't use them and we're in grave trouble."

"What does that mean for Jay's powers?" Avalon asked. She painfully pushed herself up so that she was resting most of her weight on her knees. She winced, gently grabbing onto her right shoulder. "Does that mean he can't use them?"

"Guys, I could use some help here!" Tommy called, still fighting Sagittaria. He cried out in pain as he was hit in the chest. Bringing a hand up, he placed it against the wound, but continued to attack with his free hand.

"We don't have the time," Kimberly interrupted. "She turned back to the Rocky, Adam, and Aisha, taking off her helmet. "Yes…we're the power rangers," she said to them. "You have to keep our secret though. If anyone else finds out…"

"Don't worry," Adam reassured her. He gave a small smile. "We won't tell anyone."

"Your secret's safe with us," Aisha agreed.

"Mhm." Rocky nodded.

"Good, because we're going to need your help." Kimberly glanced over her shoulder. "Rocky, The Power has chosen you for a reason. You need to take that morpher and turn into the tyrannosaurus ranger and help us out. We can't beat him without you."

"Me?" Rocky's eyes widened. His famous lopsided smile appeared on his face, albeit nervously. "I don't know…I…I don't—"

"Don't go by your head," Bailey interrupted. "Go by your heart. In your heart…you know you can do this, Rocky." She shook her head. "I know it's weird, but you can do it."

Rocky looked around at the rangers and nodded firmly. He tossed Jason's power morpher to Avalon, who caught it against her chest, carefully cradling it towards her. He thrust his own morpher out in front of him. "Tryannosaurus!" He morphed into the red ranger, a power sowrd appearing in his hand. "Whoa!" He looked down at the suit that now adorned his body.

"Stay here," Billy said to Avalon. She started to protest but he shook his head at her. "I know it'll probably kill you, but we can't have you getting hurt even more."

"Don't worry," Aisha said. She placed her hand on Avalon's shoulder. She winced at the touch. "We'll take care of her."

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "You guys go and do what you need to do."

The rangers turned and hurried back over to Sagittaria. The monster did a good job of holding off a full team of rangers; its bow was wide, about four or five feet. When swung around, the wide arc would hit some of the rangers, knocking them back, and it carried Sagittaria's momentum, giving him a good chance of being able to shield himself.

"Hiya!" Rocky swung the Power Sword down onto the bow. The shockwave caused him to get pushed back a few feet. Digging his heels into the ground, Rock surged forward once more, swiping the sword at the monsters legs.

"Ow!" Sagittaria started to jump up and down on one foot. "Hey! Who said you could do that?!"

"Its bow is deflecting everything," Bailey said. "We break the bow, we got its weakness."

"Then let's attack all at once!" Tommy declared. "Saba!" He threw his sword high into the air. It shot out red beams from its eyes and down onto Sagittaria. Just like Bailey thought he would, he moved his bow to shield the attack.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly fired arrows at the bow.

"Power Lance!" Billy brought his arm back and threw his lance like a spear.

"Power Daggers!" Trini spun them around her fingers and threw them.

"Power Axe!" Zack brought his arm back behind his head and threw his weapon.

"Ankylo Blaster!" Bailey shot off another round of ammo.

"Power Sword!" Rocky jumped high into the air and with a cry of effort swung the sword down onto the bow where all of the other weapons combined. There was a loud cracking sound and the bow crumbled and fell apart.

"NO!" Sagittaria yelled in fury. He pointed at the rangers. "You're all going to pay for this!" He disappeared from sight. The rangers all demorphed and turned to face Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. Bailey hurried over to her sister and helped her to her feet, throwing an arm around her waist to hold her up.

Tommy walked over to Rocky and held out his hand. "Rocky, you did a great job, man." Rocky grinned and grabbed onto Tommy's hand, shaking it firmly. "You rose to the occasion when you were put in a tough situation."

"If it weren't for you guys, who knows what would have happened," Zack added.

"It's no problem," Aisha reassured them. "We were glad we could help out the power rangers in _some_ way." She and Adam smiled at each other, chuckling, though their smiles couldn't match the one that was on Rocky's face. He looked like he had just beaten the most difficult video game in the world.

"That was…amazing," he agreed. "I'm glad I could help."

All of a sudden the communicators went off. Trini brought hers up to her mouth. "What is it, Zordon?"

"Return to the Command Center immediately," he replied.

"You got it."

The rangers all placed their hands on their power morphers and teleported to the Command Center. Once they arrived, they found Jason there, having watched the fight on the viewing globe. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were teleported in a flash of white light a few seconds later. They all gaped in shock as they looked around the rangers' meeting place.

"Wow," Adam breathed.

"This place is so cool," Aisha said.

"Wicked," Rocky agreed.

"Rangers," Zordon's voice boomed throughout the Command Center. "You fought bravely against Rita's and Zedd's latest horoscope monster. While you didn't succeed in destroying him, you saved a lot of lives and managed to take down its point of strength and for that, we are grateful."

"Good job, guys," Jason agreed.

"And during that battle, we have found that Rocky, Adam, and Aisha have found out the identities of the power rangers," he continued.

Alpha walked forward. "The identities of the power rangers must remain a secret," he said. "It is urgent that it stays that way. If the identities of the rangers are ever revealed to the wrong person, there may be dire consequences."

"Rocky, Adam, and Aisha," Zordon said. "You are the only other people to know the true identities of the power rangers. It is imperative that this information remains a secret. Alpha has conducted an analysis of your background and has determined that you are model citizens. You have shown yourselves to be loyal, fair, and most important trustworthy. Therefore, we ask that you take a solemn vow never to reveal the secret of the power rangers' identities."

"We can keep a secret," Rocky insisted, holding up his hands.

"We understand how important it is to you guys," Aisha agreed.

"See that you do," Zordon agreed. "Now repeat after me: I swear upon the forces of goodness,"

"I swear upon the forces of goodness," Rocky, Adam, and Aisha repeated.

"To maintain the secret of the true identities of the power rangers."

"To maintain the secret of the true identities of the power rangers."

"Thank you, friends." Zordon then changed the subject. "There have been recent developments that we haven't told you all before though we believe now is a good time. When The Power was created, there was a backup system set in, just in case a ranger couldn't perform his or her duties, especially in times of great injury. This has been seen with the power of the Tyrannosaurus and Rocky. Jason hasn't been able to fulfill his duties as of late so the powers of the Tyrannosaurus found someone that had similar attributes to, so that The Power wouldn't be wasted and so the power rangers wouldn't be destroyed."

Jason glanced over at the teenage boy that would be his replacement. His face was completely calm, void of any emotion. Zack watched him, hoping to see something flash across his face. But there was nothing.

"What does that mean for Jason?" Zack asked, taking a step forward. "I mean, he's not going to lose his powers is he?"

"No, Zack, that is not what will happen," Zordon replied. "As I said, his powers were made into a reserve."

"I don't think I get it," Trini said, eyebrows furrowing together.

"In the case where Jason is able to come back, he will continue his duties as a ranger," Alpha spoke up. "If he is ever out of commission or has traveled at a time where he is needed but we can't reach him, then Rocky will take over the duties for the time being. But Jason has not lost his powers."

"Good." Avalon shuffled forward and pressed the power morpher back into Jason's hand. "Because I reckon this fucking thing was giving me a hell of a lot of grief, yeah?" She gave him a half smile as he took the power morpher back from her.

"You know if I knew any of this was going to happen, Avie, I wouldn't have given it to you to use," he said. He closed his hand around hers, holding onto the morpher.

"No worries, Jay," Avalon replied with a slight shake of her head. "You were thinking about the team, trying to help as much as you could." Her eyes shifted for a moment. "I would have done the same thing…for all you guys."

Jason smiled and nodded before his face returned to the blank mask.

Avalon took a step back and Bailey tightened her grip on her sister.

"You should be proud of yourselves for what you've accomplished, rangers," Zordon agreed. "You deserve some time off and to get some rest." He smiled warmly down at all of them.

"Well, you heard the man!" Zack declared. "Let's get out of here before he changes his mind!" The rangers laughed and teleported from the Command Center.

* * *

 

Avalon, Billy, and Bailey arrived back at their house, slowly creeping inside, hoping David and Lacey weren't attracted to the sound of the door opening and closing. It'd be pretty hard to explain how a trip to get ice cream would have taken that long, let alone why they had brought Bailey home. As the orange and blue rangers went up the stairs, Bailey started to follow until she heard the phone ring.

She quickly raced across the house and grabbed the phone from the kitchen. "Hello?" She asked breathlessly.

'Bay!" She immediately recognized Fred's voice. "I was hoping you'd pick up."

"You did?" Bailey's nose wrinkled.

"Yeah…I was just calling to see if you were OK."

"Oh…yeah…I reckon I'm fine. You?"

"I'm good."

There was a moment of silence and she could hear Fred breathing on the other end. Bailey quickly filled the silence. "Look, I'm sorry out date was cut short by the putties, I mean, I didn't think something like that would—"

"Why are you sorry? It's not like you were the one that sent them down or something," Fred reminded her.

 _Not exactly,_ Bailey thought.

"And I had a great time either way," Fred replied. "I mean, yeah, we didn't get to play a lot of games, but we got to beat up some putties. And…I had a good time with _you_. I always have a good time with you. So it was fun."

Bailey smiled.

"You had fun too, right?" She could hear the apprehension in his voice.

 _Duh, Bay, he's waiting for you to answer,_ she thought. "Yeah…I had a good time, too."

"We should definitely do it again."

"Definitely." Bailey had to squeeze the phone as hard as she could to keep from squealing out loud, which was what her first reaction was.

"Well, I have to go. But I'll see you at school. Bye."

"Hoo roo."

Bailey hung up the phone and quietly went back into her room. She passed by Billy's room, where he and Avalon were sitting on the floor, eating ice cream and quietly talking to each other. Bailey smiled and went to her room, closing the door behind her.

She climbed into bed and curled up into a ball, slowly falling asleep.


	20. Prom-ise Me Anything

**Chapter 20**

_Prom-ise Me Anything_

* * *

 

"I'm just saying that we shouldn't let our guard down."

"And _I'm_ just saying that you all need to relax! I don't think I've ever seen anyone as high-strung as you lot in my entire life." Avalon moved in front of Billy and started to walk backwards so she could continue looking at him. She moved carefully so that she wouldn't trip as the two entered Angel Grove High School. "It's one dance and it's not going to kill anyone."

Billy gave her a look, reaching around her to open the door as they passed through, going by the administrative offices. "Last I checked you were on a suicide mission during homecoming."

Avalon rolled her eyes. "Geez, you guys are _never_ going to let me live that down, are you?"

Billy shrugged. "You have to admit that it wasn't the paramount initiative at the time."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Avalon waved him off, causing Billy to smile. "But this time it'll be different. I'll stick by your side like glue." She reached out and poked him in the chest, giving him a sweet smile. "So don't even think about trying anything with Trini while I'm there."

Billy smirked at her. "I'll just wait until your back is turned."

Avalon's eyebrows rose in surprise. She then crossed her arms. "No you won't, mate," she denied. Billy looked at her curiously. "You wouldn't do something like that. You're too much of a gentleman and that's what everyone likes about you. You're smart, kind, loyal, and you respect other people too much."

"I'm glad you think so."

"I'm glad I'm right."

Avalon turned so that she could walk at Billy's side and let out a loud shriek of surprise as Zack suddenly charged at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off the floor and spinning her around with a cry of, "Avalanche!"

"That's a new one," Avalon remarked as she was put back on the ground. She let out a breathy laugh. "Any particular reason why you nearly made me knock your head clear off your shoulders?" She smoothed down her hair, placing her hands on her hips. "It's a reflex."

"Sorry Kid, but I saw ya and got excited," Zack apologized. He put his arm around the orange ranger's shoulders and started to walk her off down the hall.

Avalon snorted. "I get that a lot," She remarked, causing Zack to laugh loudly. She and Billy exchanged a glance. This was the black ranger. That was for sure. But he, somehow, seemed happier than usual.

"What's got you so excited, Zack?" Billy asked. "Did you get a good grade on that math test?"

"What math test?" Zack replied, his smile fading and blinking blankly at the blue ranger. He then snapped his fingers. "Oh! That. Yeah, I got a B. But, anyway, guess who agreed to go to the prom with me?"

Billy smiled. "So Angela said 'yes', huh?" He placed a hand on Zack's shoulder. "I'm happy for you, man."

"Yeah and we're getting a limo so big enough so that we can all go together," Zack continued. "So me and Angela, you and Trini, Kim and Tommy, and…"he trailed off as he looked at Avalon. She rolled her eyes, ducking out from underneath Zack's arm.

"You know you could try to be a little bit more subtle than that," she scolded the two of them. "I mean, at least Kim _tried_ to make it seem like she wasn't trying to push us together." She shook her head as they arrived at their lockers. "Then again she _was_ born on Valentine's Day, so it's like, engrained in her blood, yeah?" She opened up her locker door and made a little noise of excitement as she picked out the Ring Pop that had been left there for her.

"I mean, you've had a Ring Pop left for you almost every day and you're not going to try and figure out who it is?" Zack waved an arm at her as she stuck it into her mouth, holding it with her teeth. He crossed his arms, leaning against the locker next to her. "How come you don't date?"

Avalon's cheek twitched. She had been asked that question before and it still made her wince every time she heard it. Only because she knew what sort of things she would have to talk about if she did answer. And now wasn't the time for them to figure out that she had dated Chase and it was, more than likely, the only reason that he kept her around. _What would it help anyway? It'd just give them another reason to harp on me more and more that what I'm doing is dangerous._ She gently shook her head as she switched out the books she would need for her fist period class. _Like I didn't know that already._

"Because I don't," she said simply. "And I'm going to leave it at that." She turned to the blue and black rangers. "Besides, I just transferred here, who am I going to date? I can barely stand any of you guys what makes you think I can stand someone else?"

"Oh that's nice." Kimberly announced her presence with a pout as she, Trini, Jason, and Tommy walked over. "And to think of all of the things we've done for you and you can't stand us." She stuck her nose in the air. "Well, that's OK, I just won't invite you to come dress shopping with me and Trini.

"You can try, but I don't think you want to risk waking up with all of your pretty hair cut off," Avalon said. She reached out and gently tugged at the pink ranger's hair, allowing it to run through her fingers. "Don't forget, I know where you live," she joked.

"So, Av, are you going to the prom with us?" Tommy asked, putting his arm around Kimberly's shoulder. "It wouldn't be fun without everyone there."

Avalon raised an eyebrow. "And pass up the chance to buy a new dress? I don't think so!"

"Now, I _know_ you've been spending too much time with Kim," Jason said. The rangers laughed and he looked at his watch. "Hey, we better get going or we're going to be late for class." Billy went over to his locker and grabbed his books before the group headed off to their first period class. Jason fell in step with Avalon.

"So why don't we go to the prom together," he said to her.

Avalon snorted. "If that's your way of asking me I'm very fucking inclined to say 'no', mate," she said then bobbed her head back and forth. "Then again you're like a brick wall with your emotions so who can know when you're being serious about something."

"Ouch Avie," Jason said. "You really know how to be vicious." He didn't sound offended in the slightest.

"I reckon I had to learn how," Avalon replied. She tugged her hair free from behind her shoulders as it was trapped by her backpack. "Besides, would _you_ go to a girl if she asked you liked that?"

"Yeah," Jason replied. "Considering she asked me."

"You're such a _boy_ , Jay."

"I kind of think that's a good thing, Avie," Jason replied. He reached out and grabbed her arm, stopping her just as they were about to enter Ms. Appleby's classroom. "I'm not saying that we go as dates or anything. I'm just saying that we go as friends. Besides,"—he shifted his grip on his own books as he gave her a knowing look—"I kind of got stood p last time."

"Man, you guys are _always_ going to hang that over my head," Avalon said. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "I just wanted you guys to have a good time and I thought I'd be able to defeat Arieselle myself." She waved her hands in the air. "And then Rita and Zedd—"

"What about them?" Jason's grasp on her arm suddenly tightened. If she hadn't had the powers of two rangers, it would have bruised her arm. However, it felt like a tickle to her. "What did they say? Why didn't you ever mention it before?"

"Because I didn't think it was important." Avalon pushed his hand away. "And they didn't say anything other than what villains always say. Come join us and it'll be worth your while." She snorted. "Clearly not or else we wouldn't be kicking their monsters asses left and right."

Jason nodded, though his face was still screwed up in concern.

"Does this _really_ have to do with Rita and Zedd or are you still upset about the whole having your powers copied thing?"

The concerned expression immediately turned to one of that resembled relaxation. Either he was a better liar than she originally thought, or he was good at letting people see what he wanted exactly at a certain time. "The more help we can get in the long run, against Rita and Zedd, the better," he said. "Besides, we don't know how long it'll be until Alpha and Zordon will give me the OK to go back, so maybe it's a good thing."

"Mhm." Avalon wasn't convinced. She scratched the back of her neck. "And, I don't really want you going hulk on me if I say 'no' to you, yeah? So, why not? I'll go to the Prom with you." She held up a finger. "But don't' ever expect me to wear a red dress."

"Oh, so you got jokes, huh?" Jason chuckled.

Avalon smiled. "Besides, it's a good thing that you made it clear that we'd go as friends." Avalon tossed her hair over her shoulder as she entered the room. "You're not my type." She entered the classroom and slid into her desk next to Billy and behind Jason, laughing to herself.

Ms. Appleby closed the door behind the two rangers and walked back to the front of the classroom. She started the lesson on Ethics and what it was that people would give up or jeopardize to continue to live by the moral code they were taught or chose to live b themselves. As the examples she was given, such as religion, familial, psychological as well as the simple concepts that everyone went through or encountered at once point in their life; good vs. evil, right vs. wrong.

The rangers all looked at each other from time to time as Ms. Appleby continued their lesson. No one could understand the idea of good vs. evil more than they did. Being rangers they were constantly faced with that threat. On one hand, it seemed too simple; Rita and Zedd were evil, they were good, and they had to stop evil before it took over the world. Then there were the times where you had no choice but to be evil and do evil things; when Tommy had been taken over by Rita's magic, when Kimberly had to pretend to be Rita so Goldar would think he was successful in turning her into Zedd's queen.

But that didn't compare to the ethical and moral problems they faced in their real lives. Trini and her parents, Jason and the drugs, Zack and his father, Avalon and the gang…everything seemed to be so simple for they, so spelled out and done by the number when they were rangers, but when it came to their own personal lives it was the one thing that was always so tough to do as easily.

"That's all for class today, "Ms. Appleby said as the bell rang, signaling them to get moving to their next destination. "I hope you all have a wonderful time at the dance. I'll be chaperoning myself and I can't wait to see you there." She went back to her desk and sat down, carefully getting things ready for the next group of students that were about to come in.

"Class seemed to go by really fast today," Trini remarked, hugging her books to her chest. "Did anyone else notice that?"

"It's probably because Bulk and Skull weren't there to interrupt so much," Tommy pointed out. "They weren't making fun of what we were leaning, they weren't shooting spitballs at Jason's head or kicking the back of Billy's chair, or any of that stuff." His face screwed up. "It was actually kind of weird."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. She shrugged, looking up at him. "I actually kind of missed it."

* * *

 

"Bulkheimer! Skullovitch!"

Lt. Stone walked out of his office, arms clasped tightly together behind his back. His eyes moved over to the duo that was trying their hardest to look official as they stood outside of his office. Lt. Stone shook his head. The two weren't hadn't been accepted in the junior police academy yet and they were already getting on his last nerve. Somehow they seemed to screw up everything. If he told them to sit and watch people being brought into the precinct to be booked, somehow it would end up with them throwing coffee all over the place with Bulk glaring at Skull and Skull laughing at a hyena.

He even had them go and get him some water and the next thing he knew, his computer was fried and everything in his office was underwater. They had only been shadowing him for a few weeks and he was surprised he hadn't ripped his hair out at some point.

"Yes, sir!" Bulk and Skull leapt to their feet and saluted Lt. Stone. His eyebrow rose, noticing that they didn't hit a passing officer or each other. In fact, they managed to stay on their feet, freezing in the pose of the salute, waiting for his next words.

"Boys, we have a big job coming up this weekend," Lt. Stone said, pacing back and forth in front of them. "We are scheduled to run security at prom. And if you know prom season, you know that it's one of the most dangerous times of year and we have to keep our guard up."

Skull tilted is head to the side in confusion. "How is a dance dangerous?" He started to wiggle on the spot, his imitation of dancing. "I mean, apart from the way the kids are doing it now." He continued to dance as Lt. Stone and Bulk stared at him. "Hey Bulky, do you remember those two girls that we went to the dance with that one time? Man, she really knew how to cut a rug."

"Skullovitch, be quiet!" Lt. Stone snapped. Skull nodded and moved back into his former position at a salute, eyes staring straight ahead, face set in concentration. "As I was saying we're assigned to patrol a prom this weekend. Angel Grove High is having their prom and because of the monster attack at the last dance, we…" Lt. Stone trailed off when he noticed the uneasy expressions that slid across Bulk's and Skull's faces. "What is it?"

"We, uh, you see, we were kicked out of that school," Bulk said to him, eyes moving to the floor.

For the first time in his life he was anxious, not able to put up a tough front that would hide what he was really feeling. He had grown so used to it and not for the reasons that people thought. He wasn't neglected at home, he did get a lot of attention, and his parents loved him. It was his weight that was the problem, growing up, and before he met Skull, everyone made fun of him for his weight and didn't want to play with him. So he had become shy, it was his shyness that people mistook for him being intimidating and he was branded as a bully.

Then he met Skull, the nerdy little kid that was sat next to him at the back table for blowing spit balls into another classmate's hair. It may have been Kimberly for all he remembered—things like that weren't something he particularly paid that much attention to—but that was the start of his and Skull's friendship.

A friendship that had transcended each and every school year where they lived up to the names that their classmates called them.

A friendship he hoped would last for the rest of their lives.

"So we're not really allowed to be back at school functions," Bulk continued. "That's what Mr. Caplan said when he told us we had to leave."

Lt. Stone took a deep breath, letting it out of his nose as he studied Bulk and Skull. Bulk continued to hold varying airs of defiance as well as a—obviously—deep seeded want to feel accepted. These were the kinds of people that they wanted to have in the junior cadet program. Some were more violent than others, some better off, some worse off. However the one credo the officers followed for the junior cadet program was that they were to take in those that proved they had what it took to get into the program and that they had the heart. For the few weeks Bulk and Skull had been shadowing Lt. Stone, he could see there was something there.

They were crude, loud, and annoying, but there was something there. He caught glimmers of it from time to time, they really wanted to prove something and they had a lot of heart—especially considering how much he yelled at them.

Lt. Stone cleared his throat. "Yes, well, we'll get that cleared up with the school. I'm sure they'll have a change of heart when they see the…ahem…progress you've been making." He then turned to Skull, who was still in the salute pose. "At ease, son." Skull continued to stand there. "Put your arm down!"

Skull jumped and threw his arm down to his side, his arm jerking fast enough so that he hit Bulk in the back and sent him stumbling forward, sprawling on the ground. He turned and glared up at his best friend, who openly pointed and laughed at him.

Lt. Stone briefly closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose. _What have I gotten myself into?_

"Excuse me?"

Lt. Stone turned to face the young woman that had come up to his side. Her eyes were shifty and she appeared nervous. Otherwise, she held herself with nothing but confidence. "Yes?" He asked her. "How many I help you?" His eyes moved over the lobby. There were officers milling around, on their way to their office, standing at the fax machine, conversing with each other, the desk sergeant was facing his computer, and the continuous hum of the fax machines and printers accompanied a ringing cell phone somewhere.

How had she managed to get over to him without someone stopping her first?

"Yes, ma'am, may I help you?" Lt. Stone asked her. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Skull helping Bulk to his feet.

The young woman brushed her blonde hair behind her shoulders, gently twisting a lock around her finger. Her eyes continued to shift around with each movement of an office around them, much like a dog would. "Um, I was looking for Avalon Mitchell…is she here?"

"Sorry ma'am," Bulk said as soon as he was on his feet. He stuck out his chest with a false bravado, a charming smile suddenly sliding onto his face. "We haven't seen her today; she's not scheduled to meet with her probation officer until Monday."

"We escort her to and from the building," Skull added. "Knowing the things she's done there's bound to be some dangerous people after her." He blew on his fist and buffed his fingers against his shirt. "Yeah, we put ourselves into the line of fire every day just to make sure that we're keeping the streets of Angel Grove safer."

Bulk leaned towards the woman. "She used to be in a gang you know."

Lt. Stone snapped his head over to Bulk and Skull. "Back against the wall!" He snapped, taking heaving breaths through gritted teeth. Bulk and Skull did as they were told. Lt. Stone continued to glare at them for a long moment before turning back to face the young woman, whose eyes had lit up as Bulk and Skull spoke to her. How could they have been so stupid? Putting out someone's business like that, to impress a woman they didn't even know wasn't just stupid it was dangerous. News like that, telling people what an officer's job was at the time, it was practically inviting something bad to happen.

What if they had been undercover? They would have just ruined their cover and the work they would have, at the least, taken months to get immersed in.

Lt. Stone turned back to the young woman, doing his best to keep a calm expression on his face. "Yes, you were looking for Avalon?" He gestured towards Bulk and Skull. "As these two have told you, she's not here. Has she gone missing or…?"

"No." The young woman shook her head. "It's just that she said she was meeting her probation officer and I wasn't sure if it was today or next week or." She shrugged, shifting her purse up her shoulder. "We had plans to go to the mall today and she's kinda late so I was wondering if something ran over." She then waved at Lt. Stone, Bulk and Skull, her fingers flashing silver rings as she did so. They looked quite expensive. "But thank you for your help. I won't take up any more time of your day. Thank you, officers."

She turned and made her way out of the precinct, smiling as Lt. Stone's voice could be heard screaming at Bulk and Skull for letting out sensitive information and how they could have damaged their work before snapping at them to get into the squad car.

* * *

 

Once Summer was outside of the precinct she took a sharp right and cut across the grass that made up the front lawn. Ducking behind some bushes, she made sure she was out of sight before hurrying over to the beat up Lincoln that she had parked away from the police station. Climbing into the car, she buckled up and turned it on before peeling away from her parking spot, tires squealing.

As she drove back to the warehouse, she had a manic smile on her face.

She knew everything she ever needed to know.

And now was the time to make sure everyone knew what she knew and to reveal it on her own terms. She was tired of having to sit on the sidelines and act like everything was OK when she was the one that knew things weren't going to go well if they added Avalon to the Vipers. But did Chase and Skye and Lance listen to her? No. In a way, she had been trying to protect Avalon from the life they lived; knowing the moment you got in, it would be excruciatingly difficult to completely get out. On the other hand, she could see the hesitation in the girl's face the first time the Vipers approached and knew she would be a liability to them.

And she was right.

Summer was practically giggling like a manic by the time she got back to the warehouse. Even Skye and Chase noticed when she walked inside with no shopping bags on her arms or price tags sticking out the pockets of her pants.

"Are you high?" Skye asked her. Chase merely looked her up and down, his eyebrows twitching, before turning back to the TV that had been placed on the news. "'You're acting stranger than normal."

"No, I just like being right," Summer replied.

"Right about what?"

"You'll see."

Summer raced up the stairs and went to her room…or what could be considered a room. It was what used to be an office, but she had managed to get a bed and some amenities in there. After having been kicked out of her house because of her gang affiliation she made it her home and was happy there. Happier than she had been in a while.

Summer skipped over to her bed and pulled up the mattress from the box spring. A plethora of weapons resided under her bed; guns, chains, knives, brass knuckles, money, fireworks, nun chucks, and pills, drugs and the like were all scattered underneath her bed. Tapping her finger against her chin, Summer's eyes moved over the weapons and assorted drugs before picking up a .22 magnum semi automatic pistol. She picked up a magazine already filled with bullets and snapped it into the bottom of the gun. Checking the side of the gun she saw that the safety was on.

It wasn't going to be for long.

* * *

 

"Um, Lacey, are you doing anything tonight?" Avalon asked Mrs. Cranston as she stood in the doorway to her office. The orange ranger twisted her silver ring around her right pinkie finger, waiting for the response.

Lacey pulled her glasses off her face and turned away from her computer screen, giving her a funny look. "Not anything in particular," she replied. "Other than making dinner. Is there something on your mind, Avalon?"

"Well, Kim, Trini and I were going to go get our prom dresses and…I was wondering if you wanted to come with us?" Avalon explained. She stood up straight, moving her hands behind her back, so that she didn't appear nervous. "Mrs. Hart and Mrs. Kwan are going too. I figured it would be a way to thank you for everything you've done for me and Bailey."

Lacey regarded Avalon with surprise, her eyes widening and her mouth dropping open for a moment. Then she stood up and walked over to Avalon and gently placed her hands on her cheeks. "I'd love to go with you girls. And it means a lot that you asked me to go with you."

Avalon smiled and nodded.

"Let me just get my purse and then we can go," she added.

Avalon nodded again and took a step back, allowing Lacey room to move out of the office and go to her room to get her purse. Avalon walked out behind her and looked around for a brief moment before raising her communicator to her face. "Hey, Bay, Lacey and I are going to the mall with the girls to get our prom dresses. Do you want to come?"

There was a moment of silence before Bailey answered. "I can't," she said apologetically. "Billy and I are working on our zords. We got most of the water damage reversed, but there are still some things we need to make sure are working properly. Mostly, we need to clean them, but there's always room for improvement, yeah?"

"I reckon," Avalon replied. "Stay safe, alright. I don't want to hear about you getting electrocuted because you weren't paying attention."

"I will," Bailey promised. "The only thing that we've found to be a problem at this point is that we don't know the capacity our zords can take, especially considering the stronger Rita's and Zedd's monsters have become. If we continue to take beatings like this, our power may fail at the worst time."

"So do you think Rocky now having Jason's power would hurt or help? It's not like there are any other rangers for us to choose from to increase our power."

"It may not be a matter of increasing our power as it is that we need to figure out a different battle plan," Bailey said, her voice sounding subdued. "And with Goldar being so powerful…it may not make a difference."

"I getcha," Avalon agreed. She could hear footsteps coming back towards her and quickly turned back to her communicator. "Don't worry about it Bay, just do your best. I'll see you later."

"Later."

Avalon lowered her communicator from her mouth just as Lacey turned the corner. She picked up the car keys from the hook by the front door and led her out to the car. The two got into her car and drove off to the mall. The drive was silent for most of the way there, until they were about five minutes away when Lacey spoke up once more.

"I know that it might not seem like a big deal to you, Avalon, but it does mean a lot that you want to go dress shopping with me," Lacey said honestly. Avalon turned away from watching the world whiz by out the window to look at her, though she didn't respond. "When Billy first asked if we could take you and Bailey in, after finding out that you didn't have any place to go, to be honest, I was hesitant at first, especially after hearing that you were involved in a gang."

Avalon looked away, her heart dropping.

"I mean, I had to think about my own family's safety, Billy being our only child I can admit that we can be a bit overprotective of him." Lacey turned into the parking lot of the mall and pulled the car to a stop. She turned off the car but didn't make a move to get out. "But David and I talked about it for a long time and we even talked to Billy and knowing what was going on, David and I couldn't deny that what you two needed was for someone to show you that the world isn't out to get you and that there are people who care about you."

 _Is it bad that I still question it from time to time?_ Avalon didn't bother asking the question out loud. The last thing she wanted was to be psychoanalyzed. She just wanted to have fun and going to the mall and shopping was high on her list of having fun, along with surfing, playing the guitar, playing, soccer, and running. Though she could add teasing people made her smile as well.

"And I wasn't sure how things were going to progress with us after you moved in, considering it would be a whole new thing for you two and then with your mother coming back…" Lacey let out a deep breath and smiled at the young girl once more.

"I should be thanking you," Avalon said honestly. "You didn't have to open your house to us and you really have been a good friend to me and Bailey…you treat us like we are family and that's all we really wanted."

Lacey chuckled. "So I guess we both have things to be grateful about."

"I guess so." Avalon made a show of drawing a circle with her index finger on the dashboard. "Now, if you were open to buying me some shoes too…"

Lacey laughed. "Why not? It's a special occasion."

The two got out of the car and walked into the mall and over to the dress shop that Trini and Kim had decided upon. It was the same one that they had gone to when they went to buy their homecoming dresses. Funny enough, Avalon remembered it as the same one the girls had been in moment before meeting the rest of the Vipers.

_Kimberly turned around and the two watched as Avalon walked over to the large fountain and sat down on the edge, crossing her legs at the knee, her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. She bounced her foot up and down, the heel of her boot barely grazing the floor. It looked like she was waiting for someone._

_"Let's go over and say 'hi'," Kimberly said and started over before Trini could say anything. "Hey Avalon," Kimberly greeted her cheerfully. "What brings you here?"_

_Avalon lifted her brown eyes to Kimberly. "I'm taking in the whole mall experience," She said with a sarcastic edge to her accented voice. "They don't have places like this back in Oz." She commented. She shook her head. Her hair, which was pulled back in an orange scrunchie, bobbed with her movements. She then crossed her legs the other way. "I'm just waiting for some friends of mine."_

_"Oh right, you said that you've been living in Angel Grove for a couple of years now," Trini nodded. She smiled warmly. "How do you like the place?"_

_"I like it fine," Avalon shrugged. "There just seem to be a lot of monster attacks and earth quakes around here."_

_"Oh yeah," Kimberly tried to keep a straight face. "It's so weird, isn't it? It's like something out of a monster movie."_

_"You just have to be careful around here," Trini added. "Keep your eyes open and stay as safe as possible."_

_Avalon nodded at the advice, but didn't respond. She then looked at the bags that were in their hands. "I'm guessing you just got your dresses for the dance next month?" She asked and then tilted her head to the side as they nodded. "I didn't know that people still went to those things."_

_"You're not going?" Trini asked, her eyebrows rising. "Its homecoming, everyone goes to the homecoming dance."_

_"Dances aren't my thing," Avalon said simply. "I never really got the point of dressing up to go to a dance. Besides, there's always some sort of aggro drama that pops up somewhere." Her eyes shifted behind the two girls as she stood up. She nodded over at Chase, Skye and Summer as they moved to her side, all wearing black leather jackets as well. Avalon paused for a moment before turning back to Kimberly and Trini. "This is Chase, Skye, and Summer." She then turned her friends who were studying the Pink and Yellow Ranger closely. "Guys, this is Kimberly and Trini."_

_"T'sup?" Skye asked with a light bob of his head. He looked down at their bags and s smile slowly spread across their faces. "Looks like you've got a lot of shopping done."_

_"Deb," Summer added with a smile. "That's my kind of store. Cute dresses and everything."_

_"I know," Kimberly agreed. "We just got our homecoming dresses. The dance is next month."_

_"Lucky you can afford it," Summer's smile waned for a moment. "The stuff is kind of expensive."_

_"Summer, lay off," Avalon warned her friend. She looked at Kimberly and Trini out of the corner of her eye for a moment before looking at her again. "All you ever do is talk about money, sheila, it gets old fast." Summer merely shrugged._

_"Pinkie," Chase turned towards Avalon, completely ignoring Trini and Kimberly._

_Pinkie? Trini's eyebrows knitted together._

_"Didn't you say that you had to get your sister today?" Chase continued._

_"She's working on a science project with her group at school," Avalon replied, looking back at Chase, returning his challenging stare. "What's it to ya?" She shook her head. "Ignore him," she was now speaking to Kimberly and Trini. "He thinks that he's some sort of a God or something." She twirled her finger by her head, causing the two girls to laugh. "I have to go," she tilted her head towards her friends. "I've got plans."_

_"We'll see you in school," Kimberly agreed._

She wondered if that was a coincidence.

"Av!" Trini called and waved to her as soon as the two stepped into the store. Lacey and Avalon walked to the back of the store and started to laugh when they saw the plethora of dresses that were sitting, scattered all over the floor along with boxes of shoes and accessories. "As you can see, Kim got a head start on us."

"You know Kim," Mrs. Hart agreed. "Even before she knew what modeling was she was hamming it up for the camera and cheesing in front of the mirror."

"Mom, I wasn't _that_ bad," Kimberly protested, her voice wafting from one of the closed dressing rooms.

"Kim, you were that bad," Trini contradicted. She turned to Avalon and pretended to stage whisper. "Even my Mom has millions of pictures of her trying on her clothes." Avalon laughed and glanced at Mrs. Kwan for confirmation.

She smiled and nodded in agreement. "Most of the pictures I have of Kim and Trini, they were in the middle of some sort of game that had them dress up."

"OK. OK." Kimberly came out of a room, holding onto a hanger with a pink dress draping off it. The bottom dusted the floor. "But I love clothes, there's no problem with that." She fluffed it with her hand then held it against her. "What do you think of this?" She placed her hand on her hip, turning back and forth as the others took a good look at it.

"It's a beautiful dress, sweetie, but I don't think it's the one you want," Lacey said. "There is a theory that your body _knows_ when a dress is yours. It's actually the release of endorphins in your body that escort the idea of compensation. Which is why women 'just know' when they've found their wedding dress."

"Then this one's definitely not it," Kimberly said. She grabbed onto Trini's and Avalon's arms and started to pull them back towards the dress racks on the other side of the store. "Why don't we go check out some of the ones over there and our mothers can look at some over here?" She barely gave the orange and yellow rangers a chance to respond before she forcibly dragged them to the other rack.

"Geez, Pinkerbell, you're stronger than you look," Avalon remarked once Kimberly let go of her arm. "It must be all the shopping; carrying those bags so much must've given you major muscles."

"Try telling that to Rita and Zedd," Kimberly replied. "They'd probably stop trying to kidnap me every second."

"That would probably work if you weren't screaming for Tommy every time," Trini teased her.

Kimberly's mouth dropped open in surprise then she slapped her best friend on the arm. "I don't _do_ that," she protested. Looking over her shoulder, to be sure their mothers weren't watching, she lowered her voice. "Actually, it's funny that you mentioned Tommy, because I wanted to talk about him." Avalon and Trini exchanged a glance before turning their attention to the pink ranger. "OK, well, you know how I was telling you guys about things going on with me and Tommy? Well, I was thinking…maybe Prom is the best time to do this. It's what usually happens—"

"Yeah, but even if it's what usually happens, it doesn't mean that you have to do it," Trini gently reminded her.

"I think I am ready, though," Kimberly replied. She twisted her fingers together as she bit her bottom lip, looking at the ceiling. "Guys, I love him more than I've loved anything in my life. I can't think of what I'd do if something happened to him. I really trust him and I do think I'm ready to do this."

"And you're telling us this because…?" Avalon pressed. Trini gave her an amused look before turning back to Kimberly.

"Because I have some doubts," Kimberly admitted. "What if…it's not as romantic as it's supposed to be? What if it's awkward? What if we can't recover from it?"

"Then it seems to me that you're not ready," Trini said gently.

"But what if Tommy—"

"—Tommy can't and won't pressure you into something you don't want to do," Trini reminded her. She put her arm around Kimberly's shoulders and pulled her into her side. Kimberly rested her head on Trini's shoulder, taking in her best friend's comforting aura. "You know that. He loves you. If the time is right then things will go well, if not…I know that you two can get through it."

Avalon nodded in agreement.

"Thanks Trini," Kimberly said to her. "Thanks Av."

Avalon looked amused. "I didn't say anything, really."

"I meant for the last conversation that we had," Kimberly said. "At the park, when I was asking you opinion on things." Avalon nodded.

"You talked about this before?" Trini's eyebrows rose.

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. "It was when we were going to plant some of those flowers in the park. I was thinking about it before. I just needed some advice." She turned to the dress that was at her side and picked it up, looking it over. It was silver at the top, glittery with sequins, stopping at the waist with a silk, pink ribbon that tied around her back, the bottom of the dress going down to her feet, with the same shade of pink. Sheer layers rested overtop the darker pink underneath.

She took the dress off the rack and held it up to herself, turning to the mirror that was closest to her. Cocking her head to the side, Kimberly twisted back and forth as she looked at the dress. _Wait 'til Tommy gets a load of me in this._ She grinned. _He'd be practically…_ the thought came to mind before she could stop it and a giggle escaped her lips. Yeah, she was definitely in love, and this was definitely the dress she was going to wear.

"Mom! I found the dress!" Kimberly called turning and hurrying back across the room towards her mother, who was looking at a pair of shoes. "Look! Look!"

Mrs. Kwan glanced over at the dress. "That's beautiful, Kim."

"Definitely you," Lacey agreed.

Ms. Hart went over to her daughter and her mouth dropped open when she saw the dress in her daughter's hands. "Oh, Kim, that's s beautifully. It's so you. Oh and looked at the sequins!" She ran her fingers over the dress. "Wait until Tommy sees you."

"That's what I was saying," Kimberly agreed.

She felt butterflies rush through her stomach, already imagining Tommy in his tux, waiting for her, holding onto the corsage that he would delicately slip onto her wrist. The music, the romance of the whole night. She couldn't wait.

Turning on her heel, Kimberly moved to go to the dressing room to try the dress on, and then stopped when she spotted a familiar face at the store window. Squinting, Kimberly moved forward a few paces then stopped. Summer was standing on the other side of the glass window, appearing to look at the dress that was hanging on the mannequin. No…she was watching Avalon across the store, a wild look in her eyes, and a peculiar smile on her face.

When she spotted Kimberly, she gave a sweet smile and waved, though she didn't move away from the window.

"Kim?" Kimberly looked over her shoulder to see her mother holding up a pair of silver heels. "What do you think about these?"

"They're great, Mom!" Kimberly replied. Turning back to the window, her eyes widened with surprise when she saw that Summer was no longer there.

It was as if she wasn't there at all.

* * *

 

The rest of the week had gone by at a blur for the rangers. As per usual there was a monster fight here and there, but nothing that was coming from a stronger monster. Sagittaria and Goldar hadn't appeared and while that put the rangers on edge, it wasn't enough so that they were put off going to the prom. The morning of, Kimberly, Trini, and Avalon were treated to getting their hair and nails done and all gathered at Kim's house to get ready, their mothers, Lacey, and Bailey tagging along to help them out. Where Angela was going to meet them to go over to Zack's house to take the limo to Angel Grove High for the dance.

The guys had all gathered at Zack's house for the day. As they didn't have nearly as much to go through as the girls, they played video games, a game of football, and hung out watching movies, goofing off for most of the day. It was what they needed after constantly being put under so much stress and pressure from the monster battles. Being able to sit around and do different gross out challenges (the saltine and gallon challenge being a few of the things they tried), to eat junk food, and hang out. Yes, there _was_ that tiny incident of a water gun fight so large that water was dripping from the ceiling when they finished. Then, hearing the garage door starting to open, which alerted Zack that his father was home, they grabbed towels and started to run around, drying as much as they could.

Billy, thinking that he would be able to help eradicate the situation used his water powers to try and dry the rooms, then figured out that he could only conjure water, and not stop it, thus making them end up using hair dryers on the furniture while Mr. Taylor demanded to know what had happened, though he couldn't get anything out of the giggling teenage boys.

Finally, it was time for them to start getting ready for the dance, so they took turns taking showers while the others would start to iron their vests, undershirts, and jackets. As Jason and Zack got dressed, Billy was ironing his jacket on the table in the corner of Zack's room, Tommy being the last one to take a shower.

"So how tight are you supposed to tie these things?" Zack walked up to the mirror in his room, gently nudging Jason out of the way to tie his bow-tie. He frowned as he tried to tie it a few times, each time resulting in a knot that continued to get tighter and tighter. Enough so that he ended up starting to choke. "Uh, guys? A little help here, please?"

Jason laughed and turned his best friend towards him and reached up, pulling at the knots in his tie, loosening it quickly. Zack took in a few deep breaths as Jason laughed again. "Bro, how'd you manage to do that?"

"I have no idea, man," Zack replied. He brought his hands back up to the bow-tie. "That's what happens when Angela is so specific over what I'm supposed to wear." He motioned over to the silver tuxedo vest that was gently spread across his bed. "Who even wears bowties anymore?"

"Actually the bowtie was originated in the 17th century amongst the Croatian mercenaries. It was a scarf tied around their neck to hold their shirts together and was soon adopted by the upper classes of France." Jason and Zack looked blankly at him. Billy smiled. "In a way, it's a sign of royalty."

"Awesome!" Zack turned back to the mirror and started to tie the bow-tie once more.

The door to the room opened and Tommy walked into the room, pushing the door closed behind him with his foot. He went over to the suit that was hanging on the door to Zack's closet and pulled them down, walking it over to the ironing table as Billy moved away and started to pull his own tuxedo on, being careful as he did so.

Zack glanced at him through the mirror. "I think you're the only guy that's willingly going to wear a pink tuxedo vest, man," he said.

Tommy shrugged. "Only a real man wears pink," he replied.

"You sure about that?" Jason teased.

In retaliation, after putting on his boxers, Tommy spun his towel until it was wrapped up, then snapped it forward, hitting Jason in the leg. The red ranger let out a cry of surprise and turned around, grabbing a pillow off of Zack's bed and heaved it back at the white ranger. Billy laughed and ducked out of the way as a pillow went flying overhead from Tommy's lob back at the red ranger. He moved over to Zack, who had managed to start choking himself again.

"Let me." Reaching up, Billy grabbed onto the silk ends of the bow-tie and with quick work of his fingers, wrapped the silk around into a perfect bow. "I made it loose so you don't have to worry about potentially choking when we're trying to eat." He patted the black ranger on the shoulder, before going over to the ironing board to help Tommy with his clothes.

Zack glanced at the boys behind him before moving over to his desk. He opened the top drawer, reached far into the back, and pulled out the bag of marijuana that Skye had passed to him in the park a couple weeks ago. He hadn't had a chance to give it to the people Skye had intended him to, and the constant phone calls he had been receiving weren't helping his nerves in the slightest.

He quickly shoved the bag into his pocket and turned back around to face the guys. Tommy was pulling on the last of his tuxedo. "OK." He rubbed his hands together. "The girls will be here soon, let's go get the flowers and you know our parents are going to want to take a lot of pictures so we might as well get it over with."

"'Get it over with',"—Tommy used air quotes around the words—"To you means hamming it up for the camera."

"It's not _my_ fault the camera loves me," Zack defended himself. He struck a ridiculous model's pose, causing the rangers to laugh as they walked down the stairs and went to the refrigerator to get the corsages for the girls. Once they were all passed out, his mother came flying from the living room, waving a hand over her head and carrying a camera in her hands.

"Ok, boys! Let's start taking some pictures!" She glanced at the living room. "Could you please line up over by the fire place?"

Zack turned to the other boys. "And you wonder where I get it from," he murmured, snickering to himself. Jason started to laugh, and then covered it by clearing his throat. Zack then addressed his mother. "Sure thing, Mom. Dad, could you hold the corsages?" He, Tommy, Jason, and Billy handed the corsages over to Mr. Taylor and allowed themselves to get arranged into different poses as Mrs. Taylor took picture after picture of the boys.

A few pictures in, there was a loud knock on the front door before it opened. "Hello?" Bailey called loudly as she walked inside.

"We're back here, Bay!" Billy called back.

The purple ranger appeared around the corner and smiled in appreciation, nodding as she looked the guys up and down. "Not bad," she said. "Glad to know you lot can clean up a little." She laughed before turning to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. "Sorry for barging in, but the girls just got here and the limo is here, too."

"Oh, perfect!" Mrs. Taylor took her camera and nearly flew out the front door, with Mr. Taylor and Bailey moving along behind them. Zack took a deep breath, wiped his hands off on his tuxedo jacket and led the boys out of the house and down onto the front lawn, just as the girls made their way up the sidewalk to meet them.

"Wow," Zack said as he got a good look at Angela, Kimberly, Trini, and Avalon.

"My sentiments precisely," Billy agreed from his side.

Tommy and Jason were too stunned to reply.

Angela's dress was a silver mini dress with a cupcake tiered skirt, silver heels that droned her feel completed the look, along with a white, pearled necklace, bracelet, and ear rings that dangled off her ears. Kimberly's pink dress wafted around her legs and was completed with a white star necklace around her neck and a pink bracelet. Trini's yellow dress was strapless; the bodice covered by silver sequins and bling, a slit was made up the side of the dress, exposing her leg up to her thigh with each movement. Avalon's orange dress was lifted in the front and long in the back, allowing her silver heeled feet revealed in front of her. She was wearing a black choke around her neck, wrists adorned with black studded wrist bands.

"Hi," Angela greeted Zack with a warm smile. She stopped a few steps in front of him with an expectant look on her face.

"H-hi," Zack finally managed to reply. He stepped forward and gave her a gentle hug before stepping back and looking over her again. Her dress was nice and tight, hugging in all the right places. "You look…amazing," he said honestly. "I…I don't think that's the right words."

Angela giggled. "Thanks." She reached out and straightened his bowtie looking him in the eyes. "You look great, too." Zack smiled back at her, his face twitching slightly. She looked down at the corsage that was in his hands and back up at him once more. "Um...aren't you going to give me my corsage?"

"Oh, right!" Zack moved to open the plastic casing and was suddenly blinded by a bright flash of light. "Whoa!"

"Sorry, honey," Mrs. Taylor apologized. "I just need to get a good shot." She kneeled down by her son and his date and took another picture as he opened the plastic casing and slid the white rose onto her wrist. She continued to buzz around, taking pictures as Angela pinned the boutonniere onto his jacket and then a couple more of the two posing together.

Once she moved onto Tommy and Kimberly, who were already being swarmed by Kim's mother, Zack looked around at the other rangers. Billy and Trini were posing for their pictures, smiling brightly, and Jason was standing still, eyeing Avalon warily as she pinned his boutonniere to his jacket lapel.

"I know I said I wasn't going to wear red, but you didn't say anything about not wearing orange, Rudolph," Avalon said as she carefully put the orange flower onto his jacket.

"Yeah, well, you'll be wearing some red if you're not careful with that pin," Jason replied, standing completely still.

"Oh, you mean like this?" Avalon shifted her hand and Jason winced, taking a step back away from her.

"Ow!"

Avalon laughed.

The rangers continued to take pictures for another half hour before the limo driver announced that they had to get going. Avalon then turned to Bailey and wrapped her arms around her sister tightly. Bailey hugged her back. "Have a good time, Sis," Bailey said to her older sister. "And that's an order."

Avalon laughed and lightly bopped her on the forehead. "You can't tell me what to do."

"I just did." Bailey let go of her sister and took a step back. "I don't want to hear anything about you pouting all night or something." She then leaned closer to her sister and stage-whispered. "And if you get Jason to dance, I want to see it."

"I heard that," Jason remarked. "And good luck."

"You hear that?" Avalon smirked. "I got a dud as a date."

"Hey!"

Bailey laughed and hugged Avalon again. "I'll see you later." She stood back and waved as the rangers got into the limo and were driven to the high-rise hotel in downtown Angel Grove that was hosting their prom. There was a red carpet that led inside along with red ropes that blocked off the carpet from 'fans' who had wandered over to see what was going on. Teachers were posed as paparazzi taking pictures as well as their role of chaperones, marking off whoever came into the Prom and giving them a stamp on the hand to be sure they weren't caught going up to different floors as well as to keep people from other proms (as there's wasn't the only one being held there) from crashing.

It was also being used to keep the students from drinking underage though there were enough students that had gotten into that before arriving at the dance.

"Wow," Trini said as the group walked into the ballroom that was holding their dance. The lights were dimmed and there were neon lights flying all over the place. Most of the floor had been cleared away for dancing while round tables were scattered around the room, where they would be eating dinner when it was served. "This is incredible."

"They did a great job at the decorations," Kimberly agreed. "It's so much better than I thought it would be."

"Let's get a table first," Avalon suggested. "That way we don't have to worry about trying to scramble for one when the place gets packed."

Zack nodded in agreement, though he barely heard her. His eyes were moving around the ballroom and when he found who he was looking for, he placed a hand on Angela's shoulder. "Hey, I'll meet you guys over there; I just have to talk to the DJ real fast."

"Alright." Angela smiled warmly at him and followed the other rangers to a table.

Zack backed away from them and pushed his way across the ballroom and the dance floor. The music was so loud he could feel the floor thumping under his feet, but he didn't allow himself to get pulled in by the thumping music and start dancing. He had to finish this first. Zack continued across the room and met with the group of African-American teenage boys that were all huddled together, their dates standing in a circle nearby.

Zack went up to the leader, Diggy, and tapped him on the shoulder. Diggy turned around and nodded at Zack. "Sup, homie?" He grabbed onto Zack's hand and leaned into him, thumping on the back. "What's good?"

"Just chillin', you know," Zack replied. He had to lean into Diggy and yell so that he could be heard over the pulsating music. He heard a loud cheer and turned around to see the dance floor stormed by the football team. It must have been their warm up song or something, as they were jumping up and down and pushing each other, adding to the already rumbling floor. Zack cleared his throat; looking around to be sure no one was watching him then pulled the bag of marijuana from his pocket. "Yo, I got somethin' for ya, man."

Diggy looked down at the bag and quickly took it. "Thanks man, we've been waiting for this for a while."

"Yeah, it took a bit to get to me," Zack said quickly. He turned to walk away, but Diggy reached out and grabbed onto his arm.

"Yo, Little Man, don't you want your payment?"

"No, man. That's alright."

"I don't like it when I can't repay my debt."

Zack looked over his shoulder once more to see his friends were still sitting at the table, talking to each other. Angela looked a little annoyed. He had to get back her or else she wouldn't be happy. Turning back, Diggy held out his palm to a girl that stood by them, chewing her gum loudly. She reached into her cleavage and pulled out a wad of bills. Diggy took the wad and peeled off a couple of bills, handing it back to Zack. He pressed the bills into Zack's hand.

"Thanks, bro. Tell Skye I said it, too."

"You're welcome." Zack tucked the bills into his inside jacket pocket. "But that's the last time I'm going to do this for you."

Diggy laughed and turned away.

Zack turned and walked back across the room as the song shifted to a fast-paced, hip-hop song. He smiled. That was just what he needed to get his mind off of everything. He went over to Angela and tapped her on the shoulder. When she twisted to face him, he held out his hand towards her. "May I have this dance?"

Angela's irritation immediately melted into a smile and she stood up, taking his hand. "Lead the way."

Zack led his date onto the dance floor and started his fancy footwork as Angel bobbed in front of him. He smiled at her and she smiled back, gently dancing along with the music before turning around and pressing her body against Zack's front. Zack smile and extended his arms out in front of him with a light bend in the elbows, swaying to the beat of the song. He then dropped his right arm around Angela's waist holding her against him and she didn't move away.

Oh yeah, this was going to be a great night.

* * *

 

Avalon was having a good time at the prom; she found herself dancing more than any one thought she would, especially after having only been taught by Zack earlier in the year. In fact, she found herself dancing more with Zack and the girls than any of the other boys as the night went on. Even though Jason, Billy, and Tommy weren't ones that particularly liked to dance, they at least tried dancing to a few of the faster songs but usually retreated unless it was a slower one. Even the food was something she really enjoyed.

And yet, she couldn't get that tiny part of her mind off the fact that something was going to go wrong.

Ever since she woke up that morning, she couldn't shake the heavy feeling of worry that seemed to follow her like a dark cloud. If she had listened to that gut instinct earlier that day, she wouldn't' have stepped outside of the ballroom and headed out to the back patio for some fresh air and to get rid of the feeling that she was being watched.

"I'll go with you," Jason offered.

Avalon waved him off. "It's only going to take a minute, Jay," she said before giving him a funny look. "I mean, unless you want to shine your flashlight nose around like a beacon."

Jason laughed sarcastically as Avalon smirked and left the ballroom and headed outside. As soon as the cool air reached her, she felt a little better. The anxiety only increased when she heard footsteps behind her and turned to find Chase walking her way, dressed in a casual sports jacket over a button down and black slacks.

"I should've known," she remarked, placing her hands on her hips. "You're always watching me from the auto shop down the street from the school I should've known you would be watching me at my own prom."

Chase shrugged. "I couldn't risk anything happening while I wasn't paying attention," he replied.

Avalon nodded, but didn't sound convinced. "How'd you get in here anyway? You can't be in without your name being on the list and getting your hand stamped off."

Chase balled his hand into a fist and brought it up, showing off the 'X' that rested on the back of her hand. "The security around here sucks," he said matter-of-fact. "I just ducked down behind a bunch of people. And stuck my hand out to get stamped."

"Better question, _why_ are you here?" A hard edge had come to Avalon's tone and she stared hard at him." I _know_ it wasn't just to watch me. You only do that on a needed basis and I haven't done anything that would make you question me. So what is it?"

The two were quiet for a long moment. Avalon continued to watch him as he watched her. His body language was of confidence, as it always was, along with a sinister air that proved he had seen more than she could ever imagine. Most of which being done by his own hand.

"Something's going down," Chase said after that moment. "Tim says that the other gangs in the city are planning on taking over our territory and we have to stop them." He took another step towards her. "If we lose this piece of territory, they'll come in and take over everything and banish us from it. We can't let that happen."

Avalon briefly closed her eyes, weighing the options in her head. _You know what's going to happen if you don't go. You might not be able to survive the consequences. You have no choice. Do it._ Avalon then opened her eyes and nodded. "Let's go," she said. She leaned to the side and took off her high heels, followed Chase at a quick walk out of the hotel, leaving via an emergency exit so that the chaperones wouldn't see her leaving.

She followed Chase away from the hotel and down the street, running on the balls of her feet, holding her shoes in one hand and the bottom of her dress up in her other hand. She could see people looking at the two of them weirdly as they passed but she kept going until they met up with Skye and Summer on a street corner.

Summer didn't even look at her. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go," Chase said and they quickly started off. "We're going to meet up with Tim before we go where we need to go." He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and handed it to Avalon before pulling a pistol out that had been tucked down the back of his jeans. Skye and Summer were both armed as well, Skye with a set of brass knuckles and Summer with a chain. "He went to get some people to help us out."

"Got it," Skye agreed.

The Vipers continued walking until Chase slowed down, seeing Tim waiting for them underneath a spotlight. Avalon looked around; she recognized the broken down buildings and dirty streets as Haywood Heights, one of the tougher, more dangerous neighborhoods in the city. No one went there willingly; it was where the drug dealers and prostitutes went to work. Even as they walked along, prostitutes looked Chase and Skye up and down, licking their lips, purring and calling out to them.

"Hey, baby, want to have a good time?"

"I'll make it worth your while."

"I don't run for much, how much do you got?"

The four walked over to Tim, who nodded once they reached him. "You made it," he said.

"Yeah…" Chase nodded, and then flicked his long blonde hair out of his face. His eyes shifted back and forth. "You know how it is, making sure we got everything we need." Then Tim nodded, shuffling his feet. "Where is everyone?"

"They're coming."

There was something about Tim's voice that had caught her attention. Something in the way he had said 'they're coming'. A chill went down her spine despite the fact the wind had stopped blowing on the way over. That's when she realized it. It's what made her fear instantly spike and goose bumps appear on her arms. It was silent. One hundred percent, totally quiet. She couldn't even hear Skye breathing as he was standing right next to her. There were no crickets, no car horns; even the sounds of the prostitutes had gone away. It was like they had disappeared as soon as they arrived.

Something was wrong.

Tim flicked his head to the side and all of a sudden there was an explosion of sound around them. Chase was knocked to the ground by a sudden right hook to the side of the face, Skye was driven back into the fence that separated them from the yard beside them, Summer had her hair grabbed and she was ripped backwards, falling onto the ground as a girl High-Flyer converged upon her, and Avalon was smacked across the back of the head, pitched forward onto the ground. She instinctively brought her right foot up into the air and kicked it back, hitting something solid and hearing a cry of pain.

Avalon flipped over to her back and rolled up to her feet. She flicked open the switchblade with a jerk of her arm and lunged forward, aiming it towards the stomach of the High-Flyer that lunged back towards her, his hand outstretched. Twisting away, Avalon managed to catch his arm with the blade, dragging a long line down his arm. His fist went flying by her head with a 'woosh' and she could feel the wind that blew by her head as she did so. Ignoring the blood on his arm, her whipped back around and caught Avalon on the side of the face and neck with a single blow.

The skin immediately turned warm and she choked, turning to the side and spitting to the ground. All of a sudden, Avalon saw red and she whipped around and punched the High Flyer in the face and stomach. As he fell back, she leapt on top of him, straddling his bucking body, and grabbed onto the front of his shirt, her switchblade forgotten. With strength she didn't even knew she had, Avalon lifted him up by his shirt front and repeatedly slammed him back to the ground, trying to knock his head into the ground. She continued to pull him around, flopping like a rag doll as she punched and pushed at her arms and chest trying to knock her off.

She got one solid blow of his head connecting with the back of the ground. She would never get the sound of a that sickening blow out of her head for the rest of her life; it threw her off guard enough so that the High-Flyer grabbed her by the shoulders and heaved her onto the ground before getting up and kicking at her. She cried out as the toe of his shoes hit her in the ribs. He went to kick her again and she grabbed onto his foot and twisted it as hard as she could. It snapped immediately and he crumpled.

It barely took any effort. If she hadn't had the power of two rangers it would have been harder for her to fend him off. She knew that. Getting off the dirty ground, Avalon suddenly had the thought that she could easily burn him and everyone around them, have smoke go up into the sky as it burned away at them, choking them until they succumbed to their injuries and the gray, acrid smoke that sucked the air out of their lungs.

 _Whoa._ Avalon suddenly stumbled, shaking her head. Where had that thought come from? She had never gotten to that point before. Not even when Rita and Zedd were involved. The fights continued on around her, Avalon could see Chase had fended off the High-Flyer that had attacked him—he was sitting against the fence, holding a limp arm in his hand—and Chase was now in a vicious fight with Tim, blows being exchanged faster than she could see.

Skye was still grappling with the High-Flyer that had tackled him into the fence. His clothes were ripped, lip puffy, blood coming out his nose, but he continued to beat his brass knuckled covered fist into the side of the High-Flyers head.

Summer pistol-whipped the girl High-Flyer in the side of the head and slowly stood up straight. Her movement was eerily calculated then sudden became almost catatonic. Her eyes were completely empty, though she slowly turned and stared directly at Avalon. The two stared at each other then Summer completely faced her, bringing up the pistol and pointing it at her.

Avalon's heart dropped.

Her blood ran cold.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Avalon asked.

Summer smiled at the orange ranger, her empty eyes boring into Avalon's. "I know you're working with the police as an informant. I know you made a plea deal to make sure you would get off with little repercussions. You have a probation office that you've spilled your guts to and have told about us and everything we're doing." As she spoke, she slowly walked over to Avalon, still holding the pistol out, arm completely extended. Once she was done speaking, she jabbed Avalon hard in the stomach with her gun, causing her to bend in half and stumble back a few steps. A loud gasp escaped Avalon's mouth as her hands moved to instinctively cover her stomach. "And I'm not going to let you screw us over." She wildly gestured with the gun towards the skirmish that was still going on around them. The two girls were being completely ignored.

"Summer." Avalon slowly stood up back up. What was she going to do? What could she say to hold her off long enough?

"Never again."

She brought the pistol up and before Avalon could react there was a loud popping sound and she found herself knocked onto her back, staring at the sky. Her breath caught in her throat and all of a sudden, tears sprang to her eyes, everything around her was muffled, and her arm exploded with pain.

There was a loud sound that suddenly surfaced around her and she realized that it was a scream that that torn from her throat. She had been shot. She was still alive, but she had been shot. As she tried to sit up, her right arm exploded with pain and another cry ripped from her. Rolling over, Avalon brought her hand up to her shoulder. She recoiled as soon as her fingers touched the edge of the hole, blood already pouring out of her.

She had been shot.

Sirens blasted through the air, getting closer by the second. Her hearing came back and she heard nothing but sirens and panicked yelling and screaming.

"Run! Run!"

"Get out of here!"

Avalon couldn't lift her head, but she could hear the sound of thudding feet rapidly leading away from her, growing fainter by the second. She squeezed her eyes shut, tightening her grip on her shoulder. It continued to burn, blazing worse than anything she had ever felt in her life.

But that didn't hurt more than the realization that she had been left for dead.


	21. Promises, Promises

**Chapter 21**

_Promises, Promises_

* * *

 

_"Squad car sixteen do you copy?"_

Lt. Stone leaned forward and picked up the walkie-talkie that rested on its holder. He shot a look into the rearview mirror as a deafening snore rocked through the car. With the walkie-talkie paused, almost pressed against his lips, she slowly turned around to see Bulk and Skull snoring loudly, heads resting against the windows, fogging them up with each release of noise.

Rolling his eyes, Lt. Stone leaned forward and laid his palm on the horn, immediately waking the two in the backseat. They jolted awake with a startled yell, smashing their heads into the ceiling with audible clangs. "No sleeping on the job!" He snapped at them.

Skull yawned, stretching his arms completely, wiggling his fingers in Bulk's face. Bulk pushed his hand away, rocketing it back into Skull's own face. He rubbed his nose, glaring over at Bulk before addressing Lt. Stone in a whine. "But nothing's happened all night!" He complained. "We've just been sitting in the parking lot, watching all the dorks and dweebs go to their stupid dance!"

" _And_ get blinded by the photographers," Bulk added. He rubbed his fists in front of his eyes, as if trying to rub the dots away.

"Hey, I told you boys that you're not always going to have something exciting to watch when you go shadow me," Lt. Stone said. He tried to be as calm as possible. But having been in a car with Bulk and Skull for over three hours where they had done nothing but whine and complain and make noise the entire duration. "If you really want to join the junior police academy, this is one of the things you have to do."

Bulk slapped his hands against his legs. "So we're not in yet?"

"You'll know soon."

_"Squad car sixteen, do you copy?"_

Lt. Stone brought the walkie-talkie back to his face. "Squad sixteen, copy."

_"Shots fired on the corner of Hightower and Kale. Ambulance on route."_

"Any victims?"

_"An unidentified female."_

"I'm running security at the Angel Grove Prom."

_"No other cars available."_

"Copy. On route."

Lt. Stone replaced the walkie-talkie amongst the floor of the car and put on the sirens. He ignored the borderline squeals of excitement from his passengers in the backseat and turned on the car. He peeled out of the parking lot and drove like a maniac to reach the scene of the crime. When it came to shots being fired, in Angel Grove, it was taken with the utmost seriousness. Not only were the gangs fairly new to the area, if they wanted to be able to breakdown the violence that came along with it they had to catch the perpetrators sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately, because the shots had been fired in a bad party of the city, he knew there was a very low chance anyone was going to be caught for the crime. No one would squeal on a gang member without putting a target on their back. The person that had called in the incident was probably someone that lived nearby and wanted to stay anonymous. They knew what happened to those that got in the middle of it and were smart when wanting to stay out of it. However, it made things harder for him.

"When we get on scene you do _everything_ I say," Lt. Stone said over his shoulder. "Don't touch anything and don't get in the way. We're going to an active crime scene."

"Whatever you say, boss," Skull agreed.

White knuckling the steering wheel, Lt. Stone reached the crime scene, pulling up to the side of the road so that the ambulance would still have space to arrive. Leaving the lights on, he put the car in Park and twisted the keys in the ignition. From his vantage point, he could see a figure in an orange dress lying on the ground. Giving Bulk and Skull the command to stay in the car, Lt. Stone climbed out and hurried over to the victim.

Her face was pale and her eyes were staring straight ahead, head resting on her right shoulder, hair fanned over her face. Her left hand was loosely resting on her arm. She was daze or in shock, he could see as she barely moved when he got closer. The puddle of blood under her had started to dry.

"Miss.," Lt. Stone said as he reached her. He gently kneeled down by her side and rested his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes moved towards him but she didn't otherwise respond to him. "My name is Lt. Stone; I'm here to help you. An ambulance is on the way." He leaned towards her. "I need you to tell me who did this to you."

She didn't respond.

Lt. Stone then started to look around, searching for some ID. She was in a prom dress, so there was a good chance she didn't actually have it on her. Licking his lips, he gently nudged the skirt to her dress aside; maybe it had fallen on the ground…? He quickly jerked his hand back, feeling something metal crash against his fingers when he reached her thigh. Was it a weapon? Was this a trap? Slowly bringing his right hand to his waist, he made sure his fingers were lightly lying over his pistol, and nudged the dress up even further. His eyes widened when he spotted something strapped to her thigh.

It looked like it had some sort of coin embedded in the front. Lt. Stone grasped it and gently unstrapped it from her thigh, bringing it closer to her. Maybe it was some sort of an ID, like a tag that runners would strap around their ankles. He brought it up to his face to study it in the streetlight. It _was_ a coin, but nothing he had ever seen on it before. It looked like some sort of prehistoric creature. Looking closer he saw it was a dinosaur of some sort, but didn't recognize it enough. Then his eyes moved to the letters that rested over the top of the item, curving around the coin: power rangers.

_Power Rangers?_

Lt. Stone's eyes widened as the words sunk in. This was what made the person a power ranger. He was holding onto a power morpher…he was tending to a power ranger. All of a sudden he heard the car doors open behind him and he whirled around, moving the power morpher behind his back, watching as Bulk and Skull clambered out of the car and raced towards him.

"Hey!" He yelled. "I thought I told you to stay in the car!"

"We thought we could help you," Skull said, ignoring the Lieutenant's exasperation and his attempts to hide the power morpher behind his back. "You seem to be taking a long time to figure out who this person is. You've been standing by them for five minutes."

"I'm my _job_! Looking for suspects—"

"—There isn't anyone around," Bulk contradicted, looking around. He then noticed a group of prostitutes watching on the next street corner. They smiled and waved at them, blowing kisses towards the two boys. Bulk and Skull exchanged smirks, smoothing down their clothes. "Well, except them."

Skull had moved around Lt. Stone and was now kneeling over the female, pushing her hair out of her face, careful not to touch the blood or step in it. Lt. Stone turned back to bark at him, and then froze when all three of them recognized Avalon.

"Avalon?" Skull squeaked. He went pale and looked up at Bulk, who appeared just as stunned as he did.

Ignoring the fact they had just contaminated the crime scene, Lt. Stone grabbed her left arm and turned it over. The symbol of the Vipers faced them. Yes, it was Avalon Mitchell. As if burned, Lt. Stone dropped her arm; she allowed it to fall limply to her side. Tightening his grip around the power morpher, Lt. Stone heard when he heard the sound of sirens approaching.

"Bulk, Skull, go tell the paramedics what we've found out, that we know the identity of the victim," he explained, standing up. "Tell them the gun shot is in the shoulder and there doesn't appear to be an exit wound .Victim has lost about…about a pint of blood at the looks of it."

"Yes, sir!" Bulk and Skull saluted and hurried over to the paramedics as the ambulance pulled up beside his squad car and the back doors flew open.

Shoving the power morpher into his pocket, Lt. Stone hurried over to the group of prostitutes that continued to watch the scene unfold. They eyed him warily as he approached them. Nothing good came out of a meeting of prostitutes and the police. But this was an entirely different matter and he didn't care for the consequences.

"Lt. Stone." He flashed his badge before crossing his arms over his chest, trying to look as imposing as possible. "What can you tell me about what happened?"

* * *

 

Something was wrong.

Trini frowned as she lowered her arms from Billy's shoulders, halting their gentle sway. The soft, romantic music continued to play around them, hauntingly. Billy immediately looked at her with concern as she took a step back and brought a hand up to her head. There was a sudden, sharp pain that blasted through her skull. No…not her skull, her shoulder. Something was wrong with her shoulder.

"Trini, are you OK?" Billy asked. His arms were still around her waist, but they hung loosely as she stepped back, hoping he wasn't invading her personal space and that was why she had backed away from him.

"No," Trini said honestly. She continued to feel pain wash through her body. "Something's wrong." It was one of the few times she hated being able to; essentially, sense the aura of things that were close to her or around her. Being spiritual had really helped when it came to her style of martial arts and it made her close to her family as it was something important in her culture. Something she really enjoyed, but her abilities to understand the aura of other people around her was exhausting.

She could tell every time they were having a bad day, when they had a headache, a few hours before someone got sick, and even when they had just gotten hurt by stubbing their toe or hitting their elbow against something. This was different; this was something dangerous that made her feel cold all over despite the pain she continued to feel. Turning, her eyes moved over the Prom. Couples around them continued to sway to the music, lost in their own world, but Trini kept looking around the ballroom, trying to figure out what it was that had sent shivers of discomfort down her spine.

"What is it?" Billy asked, grabbing onto her arm as she tried to move away from him. "Tree, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Trini admitted. She turned back to Billy, looking into his blue-green eyes, her own filled with fear. "I don't know. But I need to figure out what it is. Someone's hurt."

Billy nodded back and turned to find their friends, but found them coming their way. He felt his shoulders slump, dread rising through his body when he found that Avalon wasn't with them. "Oh no," he muttered.

"What happened?" Trini asked as soon as Tommy, Jason, and Kimberly reached their sides. "What's wrong?" She could see it in their faces, their body language; she could sense their discomfort and concern radiating off them in waves. "Where's Avalon?"

"We don't know," Tommy agreed. "We were going to ask you the same thing."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. "We haven't seen her for a while."

Jason's face was set in that same look of intense concern that showed up each and every time one of his friends was in danger. The same expression he got when he heard of the green candle and knew he had to sacrifice himself if he wanted to be sure that they could get their friend back. He, like Trini, knew there was something seriously wrong.

"She had gone out to get some air and I hadn't seen her after that," Jason said, crossing his arms.

Zack looked over as Billy moved his communicator up to his mouth to speak into it. "Don't bother, man, she's not answering on the communicator," he said.

Billy glanced at him. "I'm not calling her, I'm calling Bay. Maybe she's heard something from Zordon or something." He pressed the buttons on the side. "Don't forget the last time something like this happened, we couldn't hear our communicators over the music when Rita, Zedd,Goldar, _and_ the Arieselle had come to attack."

"He's right," Tommy agreed. He then nodded at Billy "Go ahead, man."

The rangers all leaned in as Billy spoke into the communicator, "Bay, this is Billy. Have you heard anything about monsters attacking or anything that we may not have gotten word about?" He lowered the communicator and waited for the response, but got nothing. He tried again. "Bailey? Are you there?"

Trini shook her head. "No. I don't like that. Something's wrong."

"Don't panic, Trini." Kimberly moved to her best friend's side and put her arm around her shoulders. "We'll figure out what's going on. Don't give up hope."

"Is everything OK?" Angela pushed her way into the group. She looked annoyed as she turned to Zack. "I thought we were going to dance. I requested this song for us."

Trini moved forward and firmly grabbed onto Angela's wrist. "Have you seen Avalon recently? Like, within the past hour or so?"

Angela thought for a moment, slightly turning herself away from the rangers as she thought. "Uh, she went out to the patio to get some air, last I saw her." Jason nodded and motioned to Angela as he confirmed her agreement. "I haven't seen her since then."

"We'll go ask the chaperones," Kimberly said, looking at Trini who said, "Yeah, let's go." The pink and yellow rangers scurried across the ballroom and found Ms. Appleby standing by the doorway, talking to Mr. Caplan. "Hey, um, have you guys seen Avalon anywhere?" Trini asked them.

"Last we checked she went outside to get some air and we haven't seen her since then," Trini agreed.

Ms. Appleby and Mr. Caplan didn't seem concerned. "Maybe she's in the bathroom," Ms. Appleby suggested.

"She must be around here somewhere," Mr. Caplan agreed. "Not students from this prom are allowed into the other parts of the hotel. That has been exclusively said to each and every student at the start of the dance."

"Well, let's be honest here," Kimberly said. "Av's not really one that would follow the rules."

"I'm sure she's just lost somewhere on the dance floor." Ms. Appleby waved them off. She put her out her hands to usher them back to the guys, who were waiting for them. "Now why don't you go and—"she stopped short as a police officer walked over to the two Angel Grove high staff members. "Yes, may I help you?"

Another stab of pain flashed through Trini, but instead of it being from the pain she was sensing, it was from Kimberly, who had grabbed onto her arm, digging her nails into her skin. Trini could feel her anxiety move around her like a second skin, morphing to her body and tightening its hold on her.

"There's been a shooting…"

Trini could feel Kimberly start to sag next to her and did her best to hold her fainting friend up. Without waiting to hear the rest of the conversation, Trini and Kimberly turned and ran back to their friends. Kimberly tried to explain what was going on, but she couldn't catch her breath. Tommy reached out and steadied, her, recognizing that that she may faint as well.

"What's going on, Trini?" Zack demanded, seeing the expression on her face.

Trini tried to process the information that had slammed into her head. She tried to get the words out, but all she managed was, "…shooting."

"What?" Angela asked, her eyes widening. "What happened?"

Tommy immediately went into action, ignoring Zack's date. "Billy, you keep trying to reach Bailey. Zack, make sure that Angela doesn't spread this around as we don't know whether or not it's true right now. The rest of us, let's go." He turned and started to push his way to the front of the ballroom.

"What's going on, Zack?" Angela asked, grabbing onto the black ranger's arm.

Zack turned to her, helpless. His eyes immediately locked with Diggy's who was staring at him from across the room. When their eyes locked, Diggy smiled and lifted his glass of punch—which may have been spiked for all Zack knew—and nodded at him. Zack turned away. _Did I do something to cause this?_

"Zack?"

Zack noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and saw security starting to cover the main entrance to the ballroom, probably to keep any of the students from leaving. There were more cops there than before and from his vantage point he could see Ms. Appleby's and Mr. Caplan's stricken faces. Tommy must have noticed them for he directed the rangers to the other door, which wasn't being manned as tightly.

"I'm sorry." Without a backwards glance, Zack followed the rangers out the side door and through the hotel until they came to a fire exit.

"Bailey…Bay…" Billy continued to call her through the communicator but wasn't getting a response. He thought about calling his parents, who would be home with her that night. Had something happened to them? Had they been targeted throughout the whole thing? Apparently the High-Flyers knew where Avalon and Bailey lived when they had been in their apartment; nothing was to stop them from knowing where they currently lived. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think, his mind cluttered with so many thoughts he couldn't keep them straight. "I'm not getting anything."

"We should go straight to the hospital," Jason instructed. "Getting a cab or anything…it might be hard to do tonight." Billy glanced at him he had always known Jason to become extremely short worded and stoic when it came to things he was opposed against. It was how he ran the rangers and was great for battle strategy. But when it came to the well-being of a friend, it just made Billy angry.

How hard was it so show a little bit of emotion? Some sort of fear or anxiety or something? That pinched expression on his face did nothing to make Billy believe that he really did feel anything and as much as he wanted to confront him about it, he knew he never would. He was never a confrontational person unless it was absolutely needed. It was one of his worries about being a ranger in the first place; fighting was one of his least favorite ways to solve a problem, especially with high intensity emotions involved. He was loyal, intelligent, smart, and would do anything to help his friends—which was admittedly his weak point—he wasn't going to make an enemy of them.

"Good idea," Tommy agreed. "But let's check with Zordon first, just in case." He brought his communicator up. "Zordon, come in."

_"What seems to be troubling you, Tommy?"_

"Have there been any monster attacks tonight? Any putties or Goldar or something like that?"

_"My sensors don't indicate any monsters or putties around tonight."_

"Alright, thanks." Tommy shook his head—his ponytail swinging—lowering his arm. "Alright, let's get to the hospital." He brought up his communicator once more, glanced at Kimberly when she sighed and said, "Oh, I hope she's OK," and they teleported away from the hotel in streaks of bright color.

When the rangers arrived at the hospital they raced inside, barely making it through the automatic doors as they slowly opened for them. Billy went up to the desk, trying to catch his breath. "Avalon Mitchell," he said. "We're here to see Avalon Mitchell. We think she was taken here."

The receptionist glanced at the rangers for a moment, eyebrows knitting together, before turning to her computer to look it over. She glanced at the computer screen for a few more seconds then slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, there's no Avalon Mitchell here."

"What?" Billy immediately felt his heart start to race. "There must be some mistake." Behind him he could hear his friends' gasps of breath, trying to compose themselves. It would've been funny, seeing a group of teenagers that had obviously come from their prom come bursting inside a hotel, gasping for air. But his fear was keeping him from laughing. He was sure he was moments away from passing out as well.

"She _has_ to be here," Jason added. "Brought in a few hours ago."

"I can check again," The receptionist said. Once again, she shook her head. "No, there's no—"

"Tommy?"

The rangers turned and saw Bailey standing at the other end of the hallway, obviously having come from the elevator as the doors was closing behind her. Mr. Cranston was standing behind her. Bailey's cheeks and nose were rose, tears falling down her cheeks. The rangers hurried over to them and Tommy bent down and grabbed Bailey in his arms, standing up straight as he hugged her. Bailey started to cry again, pressing her face against the white ranger's shoulders and neck. Tommy gently patted her on the back as Billy addressed his father, "is she here? Is she OK?" He could hear his voice mixing in with the other's as questions bombarded his father.

David held up his hands, trying to calm them down. "Whoa! Whoa! Yes, she's here! She was brought in a few hours ago. She's fine. Bailey and I just came down here so she could calm down a little."

"What happened?" Jason asked.

Kimberly's hands were pressed together, thumbs resting against her bottom lip. "Is she going to be OK?"

"That really depends on what you definition of 'OK' is," David replied. He noticed the stricken expression on his son's face and quickly replied, "She was shot in the shoulder. The doctors were hoping there would be any permanent damage and it looks like there hasn't been any. It'll be a few months before its healed back the way it was, she's going to be in a sling for a while, and she should be out of the hospital within a couple of weeks."

A wave of relieved sighs moved around the group. Trini, almost immediately, felt the pain slide out of her body after hearing the news.

"Can we see her?" Jason asked. He took a deep breath after it caught in his throat.

"Yes, you can."

David turned on his heel and started to walk back to the elevator. Trini smoothed her hair back out of her face and tilted her head to the side, resting it on Billy's shoulder as they followed him. Hearing Billy mutter something, she lifted her head and looked at him. "What?"

"Why wouldn't she be put in the system?" He repeated. "We asked them to check twice and they said there was no one by her name here."

"You asked under the wrong name," Bailey murmured, still resting her cheek against Tommy's shoulder. She looked like a little kid that was being carried to bed after having fallen asleep on the couch. If it wasn't for her red eyes and the tears that continued to fall, it would've been cute.

Trini and Billy exchanged glances but they knew it wasn't time to ask.

The rangers boarded the elevator and rode it up to the correct floor. Once they stepped out and arrived at her room, Lacey stepped out the door, her arms wrapped around herself. She went over to the rangers and gave Billy a kiss on the cheek and a hug. "Everything's going to be OK."

"Can we see her?" Kimberly asked.

"You may, but she's talking to Lt. Stone," Lacey replied.

The rangers wasted no time in getting into the room. As Billy passed his parents, he could hear them whispering quietly.

"—I know…I explained that, I had to explain absolutely everything and how we've taken them in..." Lacey shook her head. "There's a chance they could both lose their legal rights to their daughters. A really good chance."

"What's going to happen then?"

"The Lieutenant says they'd go into the foster system then, but because they're not legal…"

The rest was lost to Billy as he entered the hospital room. Lt. Stone had been sitting in a chair by the bed, leaning close to Avalon, his hand over hers. When the rangers walked in he glanced at them and leaned back, removing his hand and stood up. Tommy lowered Bailey to the ground and she went over to her sister's bed, carefully climbing on top and laying next to her.

"Hey," Av whispered to her sister—whether it was from exhaustion or the pain killers she had more than likely been given the didn't know. "Don't cry anymore. I'm out. I'm really out now."

"I know," Bailey whimpered, giving a tiny smile. Avalon turned her head and rested her forehead against her sister's, keeping her eyes on her.

Billy looked at the orange ranger as she lay in bed. Her hair and makeup for the prom hadn't been changed, but she was now in a hospital gown, her right shoulder bandaged down to her elbow, arm up in a sling around her neck.

"Hey Ava," Billy greeted her, getting her attention. He moved to her side and leaned down, gently giving her a hug. Avalon brought up her left arm and wrapped it around Billy's shoulders, holding onto him. The grip tightened as the seconds passed until she finally removed the grip to give the other rangers a hug. Billy watched, his eyebrows twitching slightly when he saw how gently Jason hugged her, but didn't question it.

Now wasn't the time.

"Hey guys," She said. She gave a sheepish smile. "I know I promised I wouldn't make this dance so dramatic but I guess I couldn't help myself, yeah?"

Kimberly and Trini laughed quietly.

"You really did a number on yourself this time, Kid," Zack said.

"I know, right? You'd think I'd learn by now, mate." This time, Billy joined the laughter with the others. "But it'll take a lot more than this to put me down."

Trini tilted her head to the side, wiping a tear on her cheek. "What about school and stuff? How are you going to manage that?"

"Thankfully I'll have a two week vacation," Avalon said. Bailey made a sound and the orange ranger half smiled. "But I'm going to keep up with my homework of course." She gently moved the fingertips on her right hand and winced, her eyes immediately closing and her body slightly lifting off the bed. "I'm left handed anyway, so it's not a big deal."

"What's going to happen now?" Jason asked. He was standing across from Billy, staying by her head on the other side of the bed. Billy could see his jaw clenched so hard that veins were popping out of his neck. It must have been painful, Billy noted. Having that much pressure being put in one place, especially if he was still holding back.

Avalon shook her head.

"Chase Blackburn is in custody as well as a bunch of the High-Flyers," Lt. Stone explained in a serious, straight forward tone. The rangers turned to them, noticing Bulk and Skull in the room for the first time. Skull still looked pale and Bulk did his best not to look the rangers in the eye for more than a few seconds. "He has confessed to being the one that has shot you and will more than likely spend the rest of his life in prison."

"What about the others?" Avalon murmured. The news hadn't seemed to affect her, she kept a steady gaze on the police officer and Bulk and Skull. "Summer and Skye?"

Lt. Stone was silent for a long moment. Finally, he clasped his hands together, resting the in front of him, as if he blocking his private parts during a basketball game. "Unfortunately, they have gotten away…we don't know where they are."

"You don't know where they are?" Trini repeated indignantly.

"What does that mean for Avalon and Bailey?" Kimberly demanded.

"Yeah, are they in any more danger?" Tommy asked. "Will they try to come back for them?"

"And what about Summer and Skye?" Zack broke in. "We can't just let them get away like that. I know they had something to do with it too!" His voice cracked with the effort, hands shaking with fury. He had given the drugs to those guys at the prom, so he could help Skye. All so Skye could just turn around and hurt one of his friends.

All of the rangers started to speak at once. Only Avalon and Bailey were quiet, sitting in Avalon's bed, watching the pandemonium around them. Bulk and Skull did their best to defend their potential future boss, trying to talk over the rangers, but the sound just kept getting louder and louder.

"HOLD IT!" Lt. Stone finally shouted.

The silence after his outburst was deafening.

He watched everyone around the room, holding up his hands to keep them from crying out any further. He cleared his throat. "What I was trying to say was that we got a full confession from Chase, saying he was the one that had fired the gun and that he had intentionally tried to hit Avalon, which he did. We do not have Skye and Summer in our custody as we do not know where they are. But we're doing our best to find them and take them in because they know something else we don't." He turned back to Avalon and pressed a hand to her knee. "When you get better we need you to come into the station for a statement and we'll go from there."

Avalon nodded.

Lt. Stone nodded back and motioned for Bulk and Skull to follow him out of the room. He paused at the door and turned back to the rangers. "I know you're worried for your friend. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure these people are caught. You have my word." He nodded to the group and walked out of the room.

Avalon spoke up. "Well, that was eventful."

A light, tense laugh ripped through the rangers.

"Avie?" Jason got her attention. He nodded towards the door. "When we were downstairs we were asking for your information…but they said there was no one here under that name."

"Did you ask for 'Avalon Mitchell'?" She asked and at the nods she replied, "That's because Avalon's my middle name."

"I thought Lilly was your middle name," Jason contradicted her.

"It is," Avalon agreed. She shifted on her bed a little. "My name is…" she paused then let out a deep breath. "My _real_ name is Cadence. Cadence Avalon Lilly Mitchell, but I go by Avalon."

"Oh." Kimberly smiled. "Cadence. I like that."

Zack stayed silent. His hands continued to shake at his hands. _How could they all just sit there and act like nothing happened?_ He thought as he watched the rangers move to Avalon's side and start to comfort her, changing the subject and giving her suggestions for what she could do with only one working arm at the moment. _How can they sit there and act like nothing happened?_ He turned away, trying to keep his temper at bay. _They can do what they want, but I'm not going to let him get away with this._

He had an idea of how to get rid of Skye once and for all. All he had to do was wait for the perfect time, but until that moment came, he just had to wait.

* * *

 

A sliver of light was starting to form on the horizon; Avalon could see it through the window of her hospital room. She had watched the phases of the night. She couldn't sleep. Not only did she not like being in the hospital, but she knew that everything was out there now. The doctors and police knew that she and Bailey weren't American citizens; they knew their parents had left them in America, and Lt. Stone knew she was a power ranger. He had been telling her how he had found her power morpher on her when he had come onto the scene.

"And I thought about it for a while, thinking about what you and the other rangers have been doing for all of the citizens of Angel Grove and…I want to thank you for all of the work you've done," Lt. Stone said.

"You're welcome," Avalon whispered.

"And I wanted to give this back to you," Lt. Stone continued. He reached into the pocket of his pants and took out her morpher, passing it over to Avalon. She turned her hand over and accepted it as it was placed in her hand. He tightened his grip over it, hiding it from view as Bulk and Skull came back into the room.

"Your coffee, sir," Bulk murmured, handing it to his boss.

"Thank you." Lt. Stone took it in his left hand and placed it on the floor. He hadn't wanted a coffee; he just wanted to get them out of the room. "I want you to know that your secret's safe with me. And I'll be there for backup if you ever need it."

Avalon had nodded and slid the power morpher under the covers of her bed when the rangers had come back in. Now she laid in the dark of the hospital room, thinking about what Lt. Stone had said to her, Bailey's worried face, her worried friends, David and Lacey, Zordon and Alpha…

Everything had built up and finally released. First, a few tears started to fall down Avalon's cheeks and before she knew it, her lower jaw was quivering and her whole body was shuddering as she cried, bringing a hand up to her face to wipe away each tear as it fell.

But she continued to cry and whether it was from happiness or utter exhaustion she didn't know, but she continued to cry until she couldn't cry anymore.

She was out and that was all that mattered.


	22. Decisions, Decisions

**Chapter 22**

_Decisions, Decisions_

* * *

 

Jason shuffled his feet, moving his hands behind his back as he looked up at Alpha and Zordon. He had been awakened by the sound of beeping coming from his communicator. Having glanced at the clock, he could see it was only two o'clock in the morning. Something big must've been going on. No one ever was alerted to the Command Center without something going down. And none of them had ever been summoned there when it was this late at night. Not that he had been sleeping much anyway, he couldn't get the thought of seeing his friends in a hospital bed out of his head.

If things could get that bad when they were human-when they were supposed to be having a great time at Prom-what would happen when they were fighting monsters.

Even so, Jason got up from his bed and glanced at the door to be sure he couldn't hear his mother's or father's footsteps heading his way. When he was sure the coast was clear, he teleported himself to the Command Center and had waited. Alpha came out from the shadows and waved a scanner up and down his body but hadn't said anything otherwise.

Instead of questioning him, Jason had allowed himself to be scanned and stood, waiting for the results. Then Zordon had appeared in his chamber and looked down at Jason with serious eyes before speaking. Jason straightened himself and nodded as he waited for the news.

"As we've gotten the results back, Jason, we have determined that you are safe to control the powers of the tyrannosaurus once more," Zordon said. Jason started to smile. "It is imperative that you understand how the Power that you have been gifted has many different factions and ways to handle the stress put on your body as well as the things you put into it." Jason nodded. "It has many adverse effects that we can't even dream of."

"I understand, Zordon," Jason said.

And he did.

He understood what sort of danger he could have put the other rangers in and how selfish he had been when he continued to take steroids all because...of what? He was scared. He was scared that he wasn't strong enough to help his friends, especially after he had been beaten so badly. He was trying to get over it now, to realize that things were bigger than himself and that he had to rely on other people to help him more often than he already did.

That, if he had to admit it, was his biggest flaw. He understood that friendship, teamwork, and team unity was the best way to go about being a ranger. But he had a tendency to stay in his headspace when he was practicing martial arts as it was more of a single person's sport. He focused more on his body as well as his mental headspace when fighting in tournaments and even sparring. He had to anticipate what the other person was doing and listen to how his body was responding to the attacks and how he could continue with an injury.

He understood now, that while it had been his personality and helped with things for a while, he had to wrangle it in and ask for help more than he wanted to handle things himself.

"I want you to understand that while you are reinstated to be the red ranger once more, that does not modify the copy of your morpher to give the power to Rocky," Zordon explained. "The powers have been made to help you rangers while Goldar, Rita, and Zedd continue to hold the Azurite Healiodore in their grasp."

Jason frowned. "What does that mean for the rest of the rangers?" He asked. "Will their morphers be copied as well? And if we continue to have the same powers, what does it mean when we have to pilot zords and—"

"Be calm, red ranger," Zordon said gently. "The only time the copied powers will be needed is when you are out of commission. If you are not in battle, then Rocky shall take your place, if Rocky is not in battle, then you shall continue to hold the power of the tyrannosaurus."

 _Take my place?_ Jason nodded. "I'm honored that you believe I still have the ability to continue being the red ranger. Thank you." He turned to Alpha and placed a hand on the robot's shoulder. "And thank you, Alpha."

"You're welcome, Jason," Alpha said. "Things aren't the same without you around."

Jason smiled back. "You won't regret this, guys."

"As it is, we are aware that the horoscope monsters are continuing to increase in strength and I believe that Rita and Zedd have sent out the weaker monsters first and are now starting to do their best to destroy you as they wait for Goldar to completely harness the power of the Healiodore to use it against you." He paused and Alpha made a quiet sighing sound.

Jason glanced back and forth between the two. Something was wrong. He could feel it.

Instead of going further into the subject, Alpha turned on his heel and walked to a hidden panel on the side of the room. Jason waited and when Alpha came back, he was carrying the Power Cube. Jason's eyebrows rose as the robot stepped up to his side.

"You want me to take on the power of the Power Cube?" Jason asked. He looked up at Zordon. "But why?"

"It's as we've said, Jason. The powers that Goldar have combined with the strength of the horoscope monsters coming in…you rangers are going to need all the help you can get," Zordon said. "Now, please, take the Power Cube and take the power that comes to you."

Jason did as he was told and took the Power Cube in his hand. He closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a rush of energy. As his eyes were closed he felt warmth and a vision of flames appeared in front of his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that his hands were glowing red and as he held one up, palm facing upward, a brilliant ball of flame hovered over his hand. Unlike Avalon's where the outline of the flame was a dark, almost black color, the outline of his flame was a reddish-orange.

To his surprise, as Jason absorbed the power from the Power Cube, it started to crumble in his hands; pieces fell off in chunks and fell to the floor until his hands were empty. As he watched, the pieces on the floor completely disappeared.

"What happened?" Jason turned to face Zordon, the red glow on his hands disappearing. "What about Tommy? Doesn't he get a power?"

"Tommy's ability to morph into the white ranger has come from the power source that feeds into Zordon's chamber," Alpha explained. "When the time comes, if he ever taps into that power, Tommy could use the power of light against Rita, Zedd, and Goldar."

"As it is, Jason, the power from the Power Cube has all been used up."

Jason was suddenly stricken. "If the Power Cube power has been used up, does that mean it's possible for Avalon's power to be used up as well? That's where the Power Cube came from."

"We have no idea what the limits of her powers are considering the origins that she came to them," Zordon admitted. "The power of the Stegosaurus that she currently has was destined to her, just as the power of the Tyrannosaurus was destined to you. However, the other powers that she has, we're not sure what it has been transpired of and while Billy and Bailey have been doing their best to figure it out, it is something that continues to elude us."

"As it, she's going to need to spend time healing," Alpha said. "You rangers will be down a ranger for the time being, but we have faith you'll be able to pull through it."

Jason nodded. He glanced down at his power morpher and smiled as it shone a bright red. "Thank you," he said to them. "For believing in me and not giving up on what I can do."

"Go forth, red ranger, and once again, may the power protect you."

Jason smiled. He brought his communicator back up and teleported back to his house.

* * *

 

Trini pressed her lips together as she reached out a hand towards the door of her parents' bedroom. Before her knuckles could reach the polished wood to connect with it, she pulled her hand back again. With a sigh, she turned and pressed her fist to her chest, leaning against the wall behind her.

Could she really do this? No matter what she decided, everyone was going to be affected by it, not just her. Either her parents were going to be upset or her friends were going to be upset. The only difference between the two was that her parents weren't just going to be upset. They would feel betrayed if not feel nothing but immense disappointment in her. Not only was that the last thing you wanted to do but it was seen as completely disrespectful.

The way families worked in the Vietnamese culture was different and she wasn't sure if many people understood that. While her father was the absolute head of the household, her mother shared some of the same ideas. However, being the child of her family, she carried the brunt of the culture that her parents had been used to. The relationship between a parent and child, compared to other cultures was highly important as the parents were supposed to 'train' their children. If the children dishonored themselves or rebel against their parents, the entire family was considered a disgrace. If the children were virtuous or talented, then the parents reveled in that fame.

In addition to that idea, the obeying one's parents in everything they chose for you was honorable. For the Vietnamese, the obligation to listen to one's parents continued well into the parents' old age. Trini had all of that shoved into her head since she was a kid, even after her parents had willingly changed some of their ideals to fit in with the American culture better. She knew the other consequence if she denied them, it had been told to her enough times; she would be rejected and ostracized by her family. And not just her parents, but her extended family as well.

But that wasn't the only problem.

She had to think about her friends, think about being a ranger. If she left, she was leaving the best people she had ever known. Even when she first met the other rangers, being new to school in kindergarten—Billy had come in the year after—Kimberly had bounced over as perky as ever, complimenting Trini on her long hair. Shyly, Trini had thanked her and said she liked Kimberly's pink shoes, because it matched everything else she was wearing, and the two had become fast friends.

They stuck by each other's side through Bulk's and Skull's teasing and instead of sleeping during nap time that day they whispered to each other, leaning about each other's family. Kimberly had been fascinated to hear how Trini's family was different than hers and every now and then she still asked questions about it. Later that day, Kimberly had introduced her to Jason and Zack, who she realized had been the two boys constantly getting told off for disrupting the class. She had become friends with them so quickly and then Billy when he came in first grade.

He had even known more about her home life than she did, asking as many questions as he could and then turning around and becoming shy when he showed off how much he knew. Of course Bulk and Skull didn't help much when they had teased him, threw balls of paper at him, shot spit wads at him, and continued to call him a dork, dweeb, and a nerd and continued to do so until high school.

She had gone through so much with them. From Kimberly's and Jason's first kiss at Jason's seventh birthday party and her mother had told her to kiss him goodbye, to the time Zack had accidentally peed his pants on the playground because he was having too much fun to go inside and use the bathroom until it was too late. Their first dance in sixth grade, their first 'real' party in seventh grade, puberty and health class, and everything that came in between. Sticking together they had been able to get through everything that had come their way and having adopted the responsibilities that came with being a power ranger, they kept sticking by each other's side and would never do anything to betray each other as they did so.

Then, of course, she thought about Billy.

She had a crush on him for such a long time but had decided not to say anything. Not only because she was scared about his reaction to it, but because in the back of her mind, she was always aware there was a chance her parents wouldn't approve. But it had been the best decision she made. She was happy with Billy, happier than she had been in her entire life. She liked everything about him, his intelligence, his caring nature, his smile, his loyalty to his friends, his understanding, his everything, really. And being able to finally share her feelings with him was the best thing she had ever experienced.

Trini brought her hair down in front of her, gently running her fingers through it. She thought about everything and what it would possibly mean. Maybe they could wait for the end of the year to leave rather than going to so quickly? But even then, she wouldn't be able to pop back and forth to being a ranger. It'd be too hard; she'd have to constantly disgrace her family.

She had to do something for her; she had to make the best decision for herself. But what was the best decision for herself. Her head was telling her to go one way but her heart was telling her to go another.

All of a sudden, she thought about the Vietnamese proverb that had been told to her over and over again throughout the years, the one that had helped her make many decisions before.

_"A day in prison is longer than a thousand years at large."_

She knew what her decision was going to be. If there was anything she had learned since Avalon had been put into the hospital that night, it was that life was short.

Trini steeled herself, turned back to her parents' room, and knocked on the door. "Mom? Dad? May I come in?"

"Yes, Trini, you may," her father responded.

Trini pushed open the door and entered her parents' room. Her mother and father were kneeling on the floor, having just finished praying. Mrs. Kwan picked up her prayer beads and walked over to the dresser to replace them in the little jewelry box that had been designed to hold them. Mr. Kwan got up from his kneeling position and sat down on the end of the bed, waiting for his daughter to speak.

"I've thought a lot about you wanting us to go to Vietnam," she said. She started to twist her fingers together. "I thought long and hard about it, trying to weigh the options and everything and I've decided…that I'll go along with you guys."

Mrs. Kwan let out a sound of happiness and turned from the dresser and wrapped her arms around her daughter, hugging her tightly. She took a step back and placed her hands on the sides of her face. "You will not regret this; this will be something you will never forget."

 _I didn't think I would,_ Trini thought as she hugged her mother back. _Knowing what I'm giving up._

* * *

 

"Captain, there's something you need to know." Miss. Fairweather speed walked into Captain Mitchell's office, a folder clutched against her chest. He turned from his computer, about to protest, and then saw the serious expression in her eyes. "It's of the utmost importance, sir; otherwise I would not have rudely barged into your office like I have."

"Yes? What is it?" Captain Mitchell stood up from his chair and waited for her to continue.

"It's your daughter Captain," Miss. Fairweather said. "Avalon. We have been monitoring her and Bailey like you've asked us to do and we've come upon some unsettling news." She opened the folder and took out a picture of Avalon lying on the sidewalk with Lt. Stone kneeling at her side. "It has come to our attention that the night of prom, Avalon had gotten into a skirmish with the rival gang to the Vipers, the High-Flyers, and she had been shot. This man, Lt. Stone of the Angel Grove police department has launched a full scale investigation."

Captain Mitchell went pale.

"As we know, Summer Mason was the one that had shot her, but Chase Blackburn has taken the blame for it and will more than likely see the rest of his life in jail," Miss. Fairweather continued. "Summer and Skye Daws are both on the run, having gotten away from police custody. Avalon is currently going to be in the hospital for two weeks and then after that she will be in a sling for at least two months, with her shoulder taking a maximum of five months to heal, as she's been told."

Captain Mitchell ran a hand over his mouth. He knew there was something else that was going to be said to him. There was no way it was going to be ignored. He had done the irresponsible thing and had put his daughters on a plane to be sent to a relative he didn't know had moved, effectively abandoning them. As soon as that came to light, that he had taken custody of them away from Ellie and then abandoned them, he was going to lose custody himself. And on top of that, there was a chance his daughters would be lost in the system if not having a full scale investigation launched against him.

That was the last thing he wanted or needed at the moment. Especially when it would be found out that he had unknowingly tested a government experiment on her. And then there was his younger daughter who, as he had learned in the past couple of weeks, had become a power ranger as well.

Everything he had been trying to achieve, was now crumbling under his feet, faster than he would have ever been able to foresee.

He was going to have to do something.

"Keep an eye on them," he finally said. "I want to know about Avalon's healing process as well as what's going on with Bailey and her being a ranger. I want to know all of that."

"But the investigation—"Miss. Fairweather started to protest.

"—I'll handle the investigation."

"Captain, will all due respect, they're not American citizens, they may be deported if not you completely losing your rights to them. They'll be lost in the system and even though Avalon just got out of the Vipers, something worse may happen to them."

"I can handle the investigation, Miss. Fairweather, just do as I say."

Captain Mitchell waited for Miss. Fairweather to nod and leave the office. He looked through the photos that were still sitting in the folder.

He had to do something.

Even if it was the hardest decision he was going to have to make.


	23. Don't Underestimate Me

**Chapter 23**

_Don't Underestimate Me_

* * *

 

In the two weeks it took for Avalon to get out of the hospital, the rangers had returned to a somewhat normal life. Now that they didn't have the worry of the Vipers showing up somewhere they were able to focus more. There were as many monster fights as they had before and while they were, once again, one ranger down, they did their best to hold them off. Rita and Zedd still hadn't beamed down Sagittaria again, but the rangers were keeping themselves on their toes just in case he made another appearance.

Bailey had gone even a step further and created an idea for a proposed training regimen that would help them in all aspects of their fighting that they me be weak in.

"I'm not saying that it's something that'll work," Bailey explained as she walked around the living room of the Cranston house, passing out folders to the rangers as they sat in the couches and chairs in a tight circle, heads bent as they glanced over the folders she handed to them.

Zack tilted his head to the side as he opened the folder. Bars and graphs stared back at him, page after page. He was sure they had some sort of significance; he just couldn't understand what it was supposed to be telling him. Then he turned back to the front of the folder and glanced at the page that was stapled to the left side. Quickly scanning it, he noticed all of the rangers' names, and then he looked closer and understood what she was trying to show them;

Kimberly Ann Hart

_Specialty_ : Gymnast; Balance Beam

Trinity 'Trini' Kwan

_Specialty_ : Martial Arts; Mantis Kung Fu

William 'Billy' Cranston

_Specialty_ : Intelligence/Gymnast

Zachary 'Zack' Taylor

_Specialty_ : Hip Hop Kido

Jason Lee Scott

_Specialty_ : Martial Arts; kenpo, taekwondo, judo, and shinkido

Thomas 'Tommy' Oliver

_Specialty_ : Martial Arts; Karate

Abigail 'Bailey' Rose Mitchell

_Specialty_ : Intelligence/Martial Arts; taekwondo, Karate

Cadence 'Avalon' Lilly Mitchell

_Specialty_ : Street Fighter/Parkour

"These are the things that each of us specialize in," Bailey explained. "For example, Tommy and Jason are both skilled in martial arts, but they have different styles and grades that they prefer to work with. While that may be a strength for them in those areas, they're weak in others." She turned to the pink and blue rangers. "Kim and Billy are both versed in gymnastics, but Kimberly is the strongest on the balance beam and may be weaker than Billy in, say, the pummel horse."

"That makes sense," Kimberly agreed.

"Affirmative," Billy added. "It is well known in the gymnastics world that the men are better at exercises dealing entirely with their upper body strength as we're created for those areas. While females are more lithe and graceful and they're better at traversing things like the balance beam."

"And no one besides Trini knows Mantis Kun Fu and while it does make her unique and brings us a different sort of fighting style that may help us later on, it may be making us weak in some areas as well," Bailey continued.

Jason made a humming sound, glancing over the sheet himself. He pointed at Avalon's name. "What's parkour?" He asked.

"Oh!" Bailey smiled. "Av's been studying that since we were still in Oz. It's actually really popular." She tapped her finger against her chin for a moment before dropping it to her side once more. "Easiest way to explain it is it being a training discipline that was created in France in the 1980s by Raymond Belle, his son David Belle, and their friend Sébastien Foucan. It was developed from military obstacle course training. Basically it's the best way to get from point A to point B the fastest way only use your body and your surroundings to propel themselves forward trying to keep their momentum." She turned to Jason, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Which is basically why she refused to practice martial arts with you when you suggested it. She incorporates it into her fighting style, which was why she was an asset to the Vipers, because it enhanced her abilities as a street fighter."

Jason nodded, closing his folder and casting it aside.

"So you think we should try to learn each other's fighting styles in case Rita and Zedd come up with bigger and better monsters?" Tommy asked. He leaned back in his seat. It made sense in a way; there were some areas they were stronger were others were weaker. But at the same time, it was what made them all work so well together with any monster that came their way. There were different fighting styles that helped them in different situations and it's what had them work well together.

"No," Bailey said with an understanding smile. "I'm not saying you have to. I'm just saying that we should be aware of what our weaknesses are in case Rita and Zedd find them as well. If not tailoring our regimen to be sure we take care of some loose ends." She paused for a moment. "For example, I think we should work on our shooting of our blade blasters just in case we have to fire at moving targets. Things like that."

"I think it's a great idea," Trini said with a smile. "You're only as great as your weakest player and the things they're sending down now…" she shook her head. "We have no idea what's going to happen next."

"Well, don't forget that we now have Rocky added to the mix," Kimberly reminded her. She placed her folder to the side and crossed her legs at the knee, slightly hugging her body to herself. "His powers are copied off of Jason's and as far as we know, he's a backup we could use in case Jase isn't there again."

Jason held up his hands. "Don't worry about me, guys," he said to them. "I promise I'll be there to help out each and every time." His cheek twitched. "Though if Zordon thinks that my powers needed to be copied over, then there's a reason for that and we have to trust him."

"Yeah," Zack finally spoke up since arriving at the house.

He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts it was as if he was in an entirely different head space, though he head everything the rangers had been saying. He couldn't stop thinking about what had happened at the prom. Maybe if he hadn't gone and finished that drug deal between Diggy and Skye…maybe it he had been more authoritative with Skye in the first place it wouldn't have happened. Avalon wouldn't have left to go help Chase with whatever it was he needed at prom and the Vipers wouldn't have left her for dead like that. While he was glad that she was finally out and that things would be better for them, he couldn't get rid of the guilt that plagued him.

He couldn't sleep, he couldn't concentrate on his homework, he wasn't practicing dancing as much and his football practices hadn't been going so well either. It didn't help that people at school were constantly asking him and the other rangers questions about what happened to Avalon and spreading rumors at the prom and what was worse was that Angela wasn't speaking to him. Did she think he had something to do with it? Was she upset he had ditched her at the dance? Did she think he was dangerous? No matter what the reason was, she continued to avoid him like the plague whenever the two came across each other in the halls.

"Zordon hasn't given us any reason for us not to listen to what he had to say," Zack continued. "And he's been dealing with Rita and Zedd longer than we've been alive so he must know something," he joked, laughing a little bit.

"You're right," Billy agreed. "But we should try and ease him into what being a ranger is like," he suggested. "In case he's suddenly brought into something he's not ready for if Jase isn't there." He nodded over to the red ranger.

Tommy nodded. "Alright, we'll meet up with them soon so we can give him a crash course in becoming a ranger. What to expect, what not to expect, how to deal with keeping the secret, things like that." He looked around at the other rangers, who nodded back as well. "You did a great job with this, Bay," he said to the purple ranger, gesturing to the folder he had laid across his lap. "It really gave us something to look into and to think about."

Bailey beamed at the praise.

"Great!" Kimberly smiled and clasped her hands together. "Now that we have that figured out, let's start planning the welcome home party for Avalon. She's coming back in tomorrow and we need to let her know how happy we are that she's finally leaving the hospital."

"She could use it," Bailey agreed. "Fred and I had gone to visit her yesterday and she was practically begging me to break her out of there." She exchanged an amused glance with Billy. "And that's when she wasn't begging for better food."

"All the more reason to have a big party," Kimberly pressed. "Great food, great music…we can have it at the Youth Center, I'm sure Ernie wouldn't mind its short notice. It can be like…another prom for her, since she missed it before."

Zack gave her a funny smile. "Just as long as we don't have to dress up again," he said. "I'd rather not have to wear a monkey suit for the second time in a month." He reached out and nudged Jason on the arm, who gave him a similar look and smiled back at him. "Though this time I'll be sure to have a better date."

Then Jason pushed Zack away from him. "Don't look at me, bro."

The rangers laughed and made plans to meet up again to work out the plans for Avalon's party before going their separate ways. Zack went to his house and quickly ran to his room, hoping his parents wouldn't stop him as he went. Once he was in his room he closed the door behind him and went over to his desk, pushing aside the books and school papers he had placed there over the week. Finally, he pushed aside a history text book and found the address he had been looking for.

1219 Hillcrest Lane.

Grimly, Zack crushed the paper in his hand and went down to the garage and climbed into his car. He quickly pulled out and drove to the address that had been written down. Once he arrived in the general vicinity, he parked the car and walked the rest of the way, staring straight ahead at the worn down, abandoned building in front of him. Glancing over his shoulder, Zack briskly walked towards the building and slipped inside before anyone who could've been walking by spotted him.

He could hear voices as he slowly approached the main area of the warehouse.

_"—But they got him, Skye. We can't just leave him there."_

_"You can't expect to break him out of jail, Summer, we'd be nabbed faster than anyone can blink. We shouldn't even be here right now. The cops have been casing this place for days since Chase turned himself in."_

_"I still think we should wait here for him."_

_"You need to get over your deluded crush on him. He doesn't care about you. At all. And it's about fucking time you understand that."_

_"You're lying."_

_"I'm not. But you can believe whatever you want. I'm getting out of here before I get brought down in chains too. I'd suggest you do the same. If we're going to have the Vipers continue on, we'll need to get to the train station and get out of here. They probably have people looking all over for us."_

_"I'm not going."_

_"Suit yourself. Don't come crying to me when you get raped in prison."_

Zack strode forward and turned the corner and went straight into the main area of the warehouse. He glanced over at the TV, the worn down couch, the refrigerator, the holes that littered the walls, and the stairs that lead up to a sort of catwalk before his eyes landed on Skye and Summer, who had been standing in the center of the room as they fought. Skye had turned to leave when he spotted Zack striding towards them. He smirked, eyebrows rising when he saw the black ranger coming.

"Oh, it's you again," he said.

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "It's me again." He shoved his hands into his pockets then pulled it back out, holding his hand out toward Skye. "I got your money," he said.

Skye eyed him warily, standing still. He looked Zack up and down for a few tense moments then took a step back. "Drop it," he commanded. Zack continued to stare at the older boy that stood in front of him. A tense fog slid around the two of them. His eyes shifted over to Summer, who watched the boys with detached interest. Then his eyes moved back to Skye and continued to stare. Skye scowled and whipped a gun out from where it had been tucked down the back of his pants and pointed it at Zack. "Drop it," he repeated. "And take a step back."

"Man, I'm just trying to give you your money," Zack said calmly. "You wanted me to do a deal with some of the guys in my school and I did. Here's your money. I just want to give it to you and get going."

"How did you find us?" Skye demanded. "How'd you find this place?"

Zack hesitated for a moment. Should he go ahead and tell the truth? That he had been staking them out while he figured out what to do? Or should he lie and say that he had stumbled upon the place while looking for Skye so that he could return the money? Either way he was sure the outcome wouldn't be so good. _Don't worry, Zack. You know what you're doing. You need to do this._ He clenched his left hand into a fist, gently hiding it by his side. "I have my ways." He dropped the money to the ground and took a step back, holding his hands up defensively.

Skye continued to train the gun on Zack as he shuffled forward, bending down to pick up the money. It was then he made his mistake. He let his guard down as he went to check the money he was given. Zack knew he would check. He remembered how Skye had told him the exact amount of money the drugs he had gotten rid of the first time had cost. That meant he was very particular about getting the things he wanted and he cared a lot about the money he was dealing with.

As soon as Skye tilted his head down to count the money, Zack took the opportunity and charged towards him with a yell, bringing back his fist and throwing it forward.

* * *

 

Avalon walked out of the bathroom, carefully turning to the side so that she didn't hit her shoulder on the doorframe. It was going to take her a while to get used to constantly wearing a sling. _Oh well,_ she thought. _It could be worse._ She looked up as a hand was laid on her free wrist and let to a short, impatient sigh when Bulk led her back over to her hospital bed.

"It's alright, Miss. I got you now," he said.

Avalon flicked her long hair over her shoulders. "Bulk, Skull, I told you guys before that I don't need you to constantly watch me," she said. "It's been two weeks and you've been here every day." She chuckled as she placed her free hand on her bag. "What? Are you my bodyguards now?"

"We can be," Skull said with gusto, taking a step forward. At Avalon's raised eyebrow, he bobbed his head back and forth. "OK. Lt. Stone had been appointed to this case, as you know, and because we're shadowing him, he wants to be sure that no one other than hospital staff and police, and whomever are on a list of approved visitors, are allowed in and out of this room."

Avalon tilted her head to the side and rubbed her neck. "He must really trust you guys, then." She then smirked. "Either that or he thinks I'm going to trip and breaking my face open." She laughed lightly then frowned when she saw that Bulk and Skull didn't laugh along with her. Turning she gave them a sympathetic glance. "I don't know if I said it throughout the time I've been here, but I want to thank you two."

"Us?" Bulk pointed to himself and exchanged a glance with Skull. "For what?"

"From what I've been told…and slightly remember, you two were there when I was found by Lt. Stone," Avalon said. "And if you didn't ID me, then there was a chance that things could've gone wrong." She gave them a smile. "So thank you. I know that…things have been hard for you two once you left school, but you should be proud for what you've done in the junior police academy so far."

Embarrassed, Skull looked down towards his feet, shuffling them. "We're not in the academy yet. We're just…being tested, getting some sort of experience in first."

"You will be," Avalon said simply. "And you'll both smash it."

Bulk gave a humorless laugh before walking over and sitting down on one of the chairs that rested by Avalon's bed. "You seem to be the only one that thinks so." Crossing his arms he slouched down in the chair, staring at his feet. "Even Lt. Stone thinks we're nothing but bumbling idiots that can't do anything right."

Avalon slowly nodded, pulling herself up and sitting on her bed. She crossed her legs, shifting painfully when her shoulder shot a twinge of pain up to her neck. She was healing fast, she could tell, but it was still going to be a while until her shoulder was completely healed. And even if that were the case, it was going to pain her for the rest of her life. She could understand what Bulk and Skull were going through. They had been class clowns, school bullies; written off before anyone would give them a chance to be anything other than that.

And then going into the police academy should've been different, but like the military it was run on a tight ship, dealing with discipline in the same manner. The cadets learned by being reprimanded and insulted rather than being praised unless they had done something _very_ well. She could understand what that was like. Her father operated the same way as she was growing up. If her room wasn't clean the way he liked it, she had extra chores put on her, if her bed wasn't made up to his standards, she had to strip it and remake it until it was perfect.

 _It's so funny how I can see so many things wrong with him now that I think back on it,_ Avalon thought as images and flashes of things her father had done moved through her head like a slideshow. _He wasn't always the perfect, loving man I thought he was._ She suddenly felt nothing but admiration for her mother, considering how long she had managed to stay with that man. There had to have been some sort of love between them somewhere, enough to have two kids. But she wasn't sure and at that point she didn't want to ask.

"You just have to show them that you know what you're doing," Avalon insisted. "Make them give you a chance to prove you deserve to be in the next class of policemen." She shrugged, wincing again when she moved her shoulder too far. "If you need recommendation, I can do that." She gave an evil smile, causing Bulk and Skull to chuckle. "Why'd you want to be police officers in the first place?"

"For the girls," Skull said immediately.

Avalon blinked in surprise. "OK," she said slowly. "But what keeps you trying, even after Lt. Stone tells you you're not going to amount to anything? Or to just sit back and watch and not touch anything."

Bulk shrugged. "Being able to make a difference. If there were more people you could talk to…if there was something else that could be done…maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Avalon nodded. "Exactly." She leaned towards her former classmates. "Instead of caring about what other people think, worry about what drives you forward to continue to help people, yeah?"

She suddenly sat back, struck with recognition. It was the same reasons why she had decided to stick with being a ranger. Not only had she wanted to help her sister when she was in trouble, but she didn't want anything to happen to anyone else. It was something inside her that made her feel like it was her duty to protect the residents of Angel Grove, especially as it was now her home more than Australia was. Her home in the other country was starting to become more and more…confusing to her. Was it really what she had made it out to be? Or was she really just starting to see how things hadn't been as they seemed when she was there?

"You'll always have my support."

"Really?" Skull looked skeptical. His voice was laced with disdain, suspicion, and defeat.

"Yeah." Avalon nodded. She gave them a gentle smile. "You blokes were the first friends I've had when I got to Angel Grove High…besides, for the two weeks I've been here, I've gotten to know you guys better. I know you can do it."

Bulk slowly nodded. "Thanks, Avalon."

"I should be thanking you," Avalon reminded him. "If it weren't for you two, I would've gone crazy in this place. I'm soooo glad I'm being discharged now." She slid off the bed and picked up her bag in her left hand, hanging it off her shoulder. Grimacing, she rubbed her neck as she headed towards the door. Bulk and Skull moved to take it from her and she took a step back, holding up a hand. "No worries. I'm going to have to get used to it."

The three left the hospital room and Bulk and Skull escorted her to the front desk, where Lt. Stone was waiting, talking to the receptionist. He turned to her, standing in a resting position, hands behind his back. "Glad to see you're getting out f here, Miss. Mitchell."

"Not anymore than I am, I'm sure," Avalon said with a light laugh.

"I want you to know that while we still don't have Skye and Summer in our custody, we'll be doing everything we can to make sure we get them and that you're safe," Lt. Stone continued. "And that we'll be increasing police and security at Angel Grove until the situation has been resolved."

Avalon grimaced. If there was one thing she hated more than anything in the world, it was a lot of attention put on her. Knowing she was the reason for the rumors that were going to go around as well as an increase to Angel Grove High and maybe the city of Angel Grove in general wasn't going to sit well with her. The city had been a completely safe place—minus the monster attacks of course—probably ranked one of the safest in the country as far as she was concerned. The residents did everything that a person should do, they helped each other, cared about the environment, cared about the eco system and everything about the world around them…and she had shattered that with her presence.

She could already feel her anxiety starting to rise. What was everyone going to say? Normally she didn't care what people thought of her, but on a scale as grand as this…?

_Wait a minute…_

"You said that there's going to be added security to the school?" She asked. Lt. Stone nodded. Avalon smiled and glanced at Bulk and Skull as they stood behind her. "May I make a request, mate?"

* * *

 

"Are you sure he did that?" David asked his wife as he turned away from his desk. He glanced at the closed door to his office, in case Billy or Bailey was around to listen in, and then lowered his voice. "You're not mistaken?"

"No, David." Lacey shook her head. She sat down on the end of their bed, gently running her fingers over the blue comforter that rested beneath her. "William Mitchell is in the process of giving up his parental rights to Avalon and Bailey. I don't know if he's trying to save his own butt or to keep a sort of investigation off of himself or if he's doing the right thing."

David glanced at her. "Do you think that?"

"Think what?"

"That he's doing the right thing?"

Lacey thought for a long moment then nodded. "Yes, I believe he is," she said. "He had already made a few mistakes when it comes to how he's dealt with his ex-wife and his other children along with Avalon and Bailey but if he feels that he can't adequately take care of them anymore…then at least he understands that he needs to do something that'll give them a better life."

David looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "Lacey, they don't have green cards or American citizenship. Captain Mitchell may be an American, but he didn't give his children dual citizenship." He waved his arms. "Basically, they're illegal immigrants right now. If he gives up his parental rights, they may be deported. And that's only if these gang bangers don't continue to follow them around."

"But if they're born to an American father—"

"They're still not registered so it's not recognized," David broke in. "Which really makes me wonder how they managed to get into the US in the first place when Captain Mitchell sent them here." He shook his head. "He's far in the government, so he may have been able to pull those strings. But those strings are starting to unravel now."

"So what are we going to do?" Lacey snapped. She was tired of her husband shooting down every idea and suggestion she brought up. Couldn't he see that she was trying to help too? All it was doing was starting to make them argue and she knew it was only because he cared about them as much as she did.

"I don't know, but we'll think of something."


	24. That Tiny Voice In The Back Of Your Head

**Chapter 24**

_That Tiny Voice In The Back Of Your Head_

* * *

 

Kimberly twirled around in front of her mirror, placing her hands on her hips and studying her reflection. She smiled to herself, excited that she was finally able to wear the summer dress she had gotten at the mall the last weekend. Yes, as strange as it was, she liked to have her clothes put on a rotation and worked new pieces in whenever she got the chance. And when she had seen this dress she knew she wanted it.

Not only was it super cute as a mixture of a dress and a romper, but it showed off her tones arms and legs really well, better than any of her outfits had. It made her proud to be a gymnast, to show others that she worked hard and did as much training to get to the point she was at now. Even being a ranger, Rita and Zedd saw her as tiny and cute and that she couldn't handle herself well but she had single-handedly beaten two monsters by herself as well as helped on numerous other fights. She even outsmarted Goldar into making him think she had turned into Rita, all on her smarts alone.

She truly felt terrible for anyone that decided to mess with her, thinking she would be an easy target.

"Sweetie, you're going to be late for school if you don't get going now," Mrs. Hart called, knocking on her daughter's door. She smiled when she spotted her daughter preening in the full-length mirror in the corner of her pink room. "I should've known." She walked over to Kimberly and pulled her daughter's hair back behind her ears, fastening it with a hair clip she picked up from her desk as she went.

Kimberly made a sound of surprise, continuing to study her reflection. "I like it!" She ran a hand over her updo and smiled in satisfaction. "Thanks, Mommy." She turned and kissed her mother on the cheek.

"You're welcome, Kim," Mrs. Hart replied with a warm smile. "Hope you have a great day at school."

"I'll try," Kimberly agreed as she skipped over to her desk, where her backpack sat nestled in the rich, oak chair that completely matched the wood flooring of her room. "I have cheerleading practice after school but I'll be back home in time for our movie date." She clasped her hands together, biting her lower lip as she smiled at her mother. "Patrick Swayze in dirty dancing. Is there anything better?"

Mrs. Hart smiled once more, this time a tense smile. "No, definitely not," she said and then let out a quiet sigh. "But, there's, uh, something I need to tell you," she said. "I'm not going to be able to make our movie date tonight." Kimberly graced her mother with an expression of interest. "You see…I have a date tonight."

Kimberly blinked at her mother for a second as the words sunk in. Her mother…on a date…Not that it was a big surprise, her mother was very beautiful. In fact her father complimented her on it throughout their marriage and even now that they were divorced he said one of her best qualities was her modesty over her beauty. So Kim knew it was only a matter of time until some guy asked her out and she had went out with them, it wasn't the first time that her mother had gone on a date and probably wouldn't be the last.

"That's awesome Mom," Kimberly said, finally smiling once more. "I'm sure the guy is really nice."

"Well, the thing is that we've been going out for a while," Mrs. Hart continued. "And…I wanted to talk to you about meeting him soon."

Then Kimberly froze. She was used to her mother dating; she wasn't used to her mother wanting to have her meet the guys. Mrs. Hart was really good at making sure she didn't bring guys around Kim that would end up disappearing later, knowing how traumatizing it could be for kids. Sure, every now and then Kim would meet the guy at the door, but that was it. Her mother had never gone out with anyone long enough for her to actually _meet_ them. The idea just wouldn't compute with her.

Reaching a hand up on her backpack strap, Kimberly took a step backwards. "Uh, that's great, too, Mom." As much as she tried to sound upbeat, both Harts knew she was rattled by the news.

Mrs. Hard ran a soothing hand up and down her daughter's arm. "I don't mean for you to meet him now, like tonight. I just wanted to run the idea by you, to see if everything was OK."

"Yes! Of course! I mean, sure it's OK. I can just…do some homework with Tommy or something." Kimberly paced around her room, grabbing her books and makeup, pushing them into her backpack. "We can talk about it later, Mom; I need to get to school. Like you said, I'm going to be late." She went over to her mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek before scurrying out of her room, down the stairs, and out the house.

She climbed into her car and turned on the radio, blasting pop music as she drove to school, bobbing along and singing to her favorite songs. Arriving at school, she pulled into the parking lot and turned off her car, gathering her purse and backpack as she went. She walked, practically bouncing, into Angel Grove High and took a corner sharply, running into someone as she did so. A startled squeal escaped from her lips as her purse dropped to the ground, losing everything as it did so.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Kim turned to the girl she had run into, finding her sprawled to the ground. It was a funny sight, Kimberly tried not to laugh. The other girl was nearly six feet tall and little Kimberly had managed to knock her down. It was like she had thought that morning; she shouldn't be messed with or thought of as weak. But she still wouldn't purposefully knock someone down. "I didn't see you there, I—"

"Why don't you watch where you're going, fatass!" The girl snapped, scrambling to her feet. Kimberly frowned, recognizing her as the girl that Bulk and Skull used to hang out with since middle school. After their first year in high school she didn't hang out with them much anymore and she always wondered why.

 _If her attitude has anything to do with it, I'm not surprised they don't hang out anymore,_ Kimberly thought with a frown. She reached out, scrabbling to grab the tubes of lip-gloss that rolled away from her. "I'm sorry," she apologized once more.

"Whatever, Miss. Cheerleader, I thought you were a gymnast. Aren't you supposed to have good reflexes or something?" The girl continued to berate the pink ranger. "Maybe all of those cheeseburgers and shakes you scarf down at the juice bar are finally starting to catch up with you. It's making you too heavy to move."

Kimberly's mouth dropped open. "I beg your pardon," she said.

Instead of replying, the girl got off the floor, brushing off her clothes. She maneuvered around Kimberly and stomped off down the hallway.

"Who pissed in _her_ cornflakes?" Kimberly muttered as she continued to retrieve her things. She never particularly liked to curse, plus her mother raised her to understand if she was ever caught saying it, her mouth would be washed out with soap.

A low chuckle sounded behind her and Kimberly whipped her head around, rolling her eyes at Jason as he picked up her compact mirror and held it out to her. "Having a bad day, Kimmy?" He asked her, a teasing flash in his eyes.

"Shut up, Jase." Kimberly took the mirror form him and placed it in her purse before stand up and brushing off her clothes. She pushed her hair behind her ears. "That was really weird, though." She fell in step beside Jason as the two headed towards their lockers. "I accidentally ran into this girl…the one that used to hang out with Bulk and Skull."

Jason groaned at the mention.

"I know! Anyway, I had accidentally run into her when I was turning the corner and knocked her to the ground—"

"You?" Jason tilted his head back and laughed. "You weigh, like, one hundred pounds soaking wet, how can _you_ knock someone down?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Red Ranger, but I _am_ strong, you know." As if to prove her point, Kimberly reached out and shoved him on the arm, effectively moving him a few steps away from her. "Don't mess with me."

"Yes, ma'am."

Kimberly beamed at him before her face fell. "Anyway, I accidentally knocked her down and she said some really rude things to me…and uh…"

Jason reached out a hand, stopping Kimberly. "What'd she say, Kim?" By the stern expression on his face, Kim could see that he was moving into 'big brother mode'. He always had a way of protecting her whenever she needed it, whether from a monster or a bully he was there for her and this was no exception. She felt a flood of relief and admiration for him in that moment.

"Um….do you….do you think I'm…" Kimberly couldn't say the word out loud, instead she barely breathed, barely whispered the word 'fat'.

Jason's jaw dropped. "She called you fat?"

"Well, not fat exactly…" Kimberly trailed off. She could see by the increasing thunderous expression on Jason's face that it didn't matter what the girl had called him, he was pissed that his 'little sister' had been disrespected like that. "Jase, I'm sure she was just—"

"Just about to get her butt kicked," Jason interrupted.

Kimberly knew the situation was a bit serious, as Jason was never one that would threaten or even think of putting his hands on a girl, but she couldn't help but laugh. At least to ease the tension a little bit. Maybe it was to make herself feel better. She had never had someone speak to her that way. Plus, she was clearly _not_ fat. She probably didn't have any body fat on her at all; it was why she was a flyer on the cheerleading team, easy to toss around when needed.

 _So why did it hurt so much?_ She asked herself. Rather than questioning it out loud, she rubbed Jason's arm and directed them towards their lockers once more. Once they arrived she spotted Trini coming up the hallway in the other direction. "Hey, Trini!" She called over to her.

"Hey Kim," Trini replied. She smiled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes or cause her dimples to appear in her cheeks. "Hey Jase. How are you guys doing this morning?"

"Great now," Kimberly replied, exchanging a glance and a smile with Jason.

If Trini had noticed, she didn't question it. Instead, she simply turned to her locker and opened it, getting her books for her first class. Kimberly frowned. That wasn't like Trini; normally they would have conversations up until they were seconds from being late for class. Or they would giggle and gossip about the boys or whoever else they came across and make plans for the weekend. Kimberly stepped up to her best friend's side and peered at her face. Finally, Trini turned and gave her a real smile, but the pink ranger could still see that the yellow ranger was contemplating something.

"Tri, are you OK?" Kimberly asked her.

"Yeah," Jason added, scratching the back of his neck. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Trini said calmly. "I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. And we have this paper coming up that I haven't even started yet…"

"Oh yeah, that one for history." Kimberly's nose wrinkled. "It sounds _so_ uncool. I mean, who wants to _read_ eight pages let alone write it." She held up a finger. "If we could write on whatever topic we wanted, then that'd be a different story."

"You'd probably just write your paper on the history or shopping or something," Trini teased her.

"I was going to say the history of make up," Jason chimed in and the two rangers started laughing. Kimberly rolled her eyes, but laughed as well. They were probably right, if she had her choice, it would be on something she at least found interesting.

"Whatever, guys."

Kimberly opened her locker and deposited her backpack and purse inside. She had just started to exchange her books when she heard a commotion coming up the hallway. Zack's laughter and…Avalon's shrieking? Turning her head, Kimberly beamed along with Trini and Jason when she spotted Zack running up the hallways, the orange ranger on his back, holding tightly around his neck with her good arm. Tommy and Billy were coming up the hallway behind them, smiling and laughing to themselves.

"And here we are, m'lady," Zack said with a regal accent to his tone. He stopped in front of Avalon's locker and gently lowered her to the ground, before handing over her orange and black backpack. Her right arm was still in a sling, held close to her side. "At your locker."

"If I knew you were going to carry me when I accepted your offer to carry my backpack, I would've made sure to hold on tighter," Avalon said, smoothing down her hair. "And hopefully choke you out along the way."

"Av!" Kimberly squealed and threw her arms around the orange ranger. Avalon laughed and hugged Kimberly back as tightly before turning to the yellow ranger and red rangers and doing the same. "How are you? You look great!"

Avalon's right eyebrow twitched upwards. "I look like I haven't eaten in two weeks," she contradicted. "Which is true considering the food in the hospital is crap."

"That didn't stop you from wolfing down the dinner Mom made you last night," Billy teased her, gently nudging her shoulder with his own. She gave him a sincere smile in return. Kimberly couldn't help but smile herself; it was obvious that getting out of the hospital had made the orange ranger very happy.

" _You_ try having to starve yourself and then going back to real, home cooked food, Smurf," Avalon defended herself. "Then tell me that you wouldn't eat anything that's placed in front of you. I think I gained about five pounds from last night alone, yeah?"

"Don't worry about it, Kid, you still look good to me," Zack reassured her, causing her to laugh again.

"Thanks Twinkle Toes, I really needed that."

"How long are you going to be in the sling?" Jason asked her.

Avalon hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sure," she said honestly. She shrugged before lowering her voice slightly. "I mean, I'm healing a lot faster than normal people can…you know why. But it's still going to be a bit before its back to one hundred percent. Once it gets good enough, I'm going to go to physical therapy for it. Hopefully I'll be back to fighting with you lot real soon." She gave a meaningful look around the group and they smiled back.

Tommy reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Av, you'll be back with us sooner than you think."

"What with the molecular structure of her DNA due to the totaling of the powers she's been given of the second ranger compared with her destined Stegosaurus powers, in component with being an adolescent should prove she's going to heal a swift recovery," Billy said.

Avalon's eyes widened and she tilted her head back to look at the ceiling. "You haven't had to deal with _this_ for the past two weeks either," she groaned, then bumped him with her shoulder. She shifted her backpack onto her good shoulder. "I have to turn in my homework to my teachers; I'll see you guys later." With a wave she walked off down the hallway.

Whether or not she noticed the stares or whispers that surrounded her as she passed, she didn't pay attention to it.

 _I wish I could be like that,_ Kim thought. _Not care what anyone thinks and still be yourself._ She suddenly felt annoyed, hearing the sound of the girl's voice in her head again. Looking down, Kimberly reached out a hand and pinched her stomach beneath her dress. She frowned at the small lump that appeared.

"So it seems like she's really excited to be back in school," Zack said to Billy.

"Yeah, from the times that we'd take Bailey to visit her, all she'd talk about is going to school and actually being able to do something rather than lay in bed all day."

"Can't say I know the feeling," Zack said. He slowly shook his head. "If it were me, I'd be dying to _stay_ in the hospital and not have to go to school." He reached out and placed a hand on Trini's shoulder, as she was standing the closest to him. "Where do I go wrong?"

"Probably in a lot of places," Trini replied with a half smile.

A stunned silence went through the group. Trini was always, nice, polite and respectful to those around her. She never really participated in trash talking someone, or even teasing in a way that would be considered an insult.

Zack finally spoke up, his nonchalant smile on his face. "Good one, Trini. I'm going to have to remember that one for later." He slung his arm around her shoulders and the rangers all relaxed. The bell rang and they all glanced up as if seeing where it was coming from. "Woops. Gotta jet, or I'm going to be late for class."

"Wait, up, we're going the same way," Jason said. He closed his locker door and he and Zack raced off down the hallway.

"I'll see you later, beautiful," Tommy said to Kimberly. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The public display of affection made her blush and giggle, though she gratefully raised her arms and wrapped them around her boyfriend, giving him a hug. "I love you," he said to her.

Kimberly shivered her smile widening. It was the first time he had said he loved her, to her, since her birthday. "I love you, too." Being able to say it out loud like that, with no hesitation or nervousness was perfect. "Oh!" She took a step back and smiled up at Tommy. "My mom's going out on a date tonight, so we can hang out after my cheerleading practice ends."

"That sounds great." Tommy gave her another kiss. "See you guys." He waved to Kimberly and Trini before bounding down the hallway after the boys.

"Tommy," Kimberly called after him.

"Your class is that way," Trini added, pointing in the opposite direction.

Tommy skidded to a halt and let out a nervous laugh before turning and running off the other way. He turned down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. Kimberly let out a sigh and put her serious face on before turning to Trini, who warily held her gaze.

Placing her hands on her hips, Kimberly continued to gaze at Trini and as the seconds passed, she finally started to see a flicker of something in the yellow ranger's eyes. As easily as Trini could see and sense the emotions in other people it was what backfired on her; she wore her heart on her sleeve and as strong and collected she could be, Kimberly knew her best friend better than she knew the back of her hand.

"What's going on, Tri?" Kimberly pressed gently.

Trini looked like she wanted to deny it, but then seeing the stern look on Kimberly's face, she relented. "I have something I need to tell you guys," she admitted. "But I don't know how to say it."

"You can tell me."

Trini smiled. "I _know_ I can, Kim. I just….it's just really hard."

Kimberly nodded then reached out her hand and grabbed onto Trini's. She turned and started to pull her out of the hallway but instead of going to their class, she ducked them out of the back exit and walked her onto the soccer field. They may get in trouble for skipping class, but she had a feeling this was something that would take more than a simple conversation in the hallway.

Trini smiled as she allowed herself to get pulled along. Kimberly was probably the one she was going to miss the most. Not that she wasn't going to miss the others, but she was her first friend, for a long time she was the only other girl in their group and they had to band together on so many fronts, not only to make sure they were head, but so the guys didn't get too…guyish. When the guys were talking about girls, all the two had to do was roll their eyes or shake their heads and they got the hint. They were both strong and were able to hold their own and Kimberly surely was her opposite.

She was loud, energetic, girly, and not afraid to voice her opinion and wouldn't let anyone stand in her way, contrasting with Trini's more quiet, reserved, a little bit tomboyish, and would stand up for what was right when she felt the it was time for that. _I'm going to miss you more than you know, Kim._

"Alright." Kimberly smoothed down her dress before carefully sitting on the grass. "What's going on? I can always tell whenever something's wrong and you haven't been this distressed since the time you've accidentally stole from that candy store."

Trini rolled her eyes. Ah, yes, that gumball. She, Kimberly, Jason, Zack, and Billy had been about seven years old when they had taken a trip to the candy store. She had gone over to the bin of gumballs and was looking through it, trying to figure out which one was bigger than the other. Zack and Jason, who had already bought their candy and had eaten some of it at that point, were impatiently waiting to go. Then Kimberly had asked her to come over to see some sort of lollipop she was about to buy and Trini still had the gumball in her hand, shoving it in her pocket as she walked over to Kim.

After having gotten their candy, playing at the park, then going back home, Trini found the candy in her pocket. She had started to cry and worry about having stolen it. Billy reassured her, saying she could go back to the store and explain what happened and Kimberly offered to go with her.

It had been such a little thing, but back to her, it had seemed like her whole world had imploded once she had done something wrong. She could still remember how anxious she was about it, compared to how anxious she was at the present, the present was worse.

"C'mon Kim, we were kids," Trini said with a light roll of her eyes.

"I know!" Kimberly gently slapped Trini on the leg. "Which is why I'm worried about what this is." She tilted her head to the side as she waited for Trini to spill her guts.

Trini shook her head. She gently faced away from the pink ranger as she felt her eyes start to well up with tears, one clinging to the lashes of the corner of her eye. She sniffed loudly and brought a hand up, wiping at her eyes. Kimberly reached out and patted her hand. "Kim…I…I don't know how…to say this."

"Say what?"

Trini dabbed at her eyes and sucked in a breath, looking Kimberly with a strong expression as she could. She couldn't break. Not yet. Not until she could tell the other rangers. "My parents…they want to go to Vietnam so they can get in touch with their roots and things they may have lost while they've been here in America."

Kimberly's eyes widened. It would've been comical to Trini if the situation really wasn't so sad. "That's awesome, Trini! I bet they really miss it." She then winked at her best friend. "And it'd give you some space with Billy, right?" Her smile faded at Trini's sad smile. "What?"

"That'd be the case if they hadn't asked me to join them," Trini admitted. Kimberly let out a light gasp. "And…I'm going to go." Now Kimberly brought her hands up over her mouth and gently shook her head back and forth. Trini could see the tears well up. "Kim, don't cry." She reached out and brushed away the tears that started to drip down Kimberly's cheeks.

"I'm just going to miss you," Kimberly admitted. "We've…we've been together for so long…d-do you know how long you're going to be gone?"

Trini shrugged.

Kimberly nodded.

"I think this'll be the best thing for me," Trini continued. "My parents and I…we've been fighting so much and I don't feel I can understand where they're coming from though I know they want what's best for me."

"But they don't understand you either!"

"And maybe going on this trip will help bring us back together. Maybe it'll help them understand that I don't need them to protect me all the time."

"So tell them you're a power ranger," Kimberly said dryly. Trini laughed, brushing her raven hair behind her ears. She then gasped loudly, starting Trini. "What about Billy? Have you told him? Oh God, what about the boys? And Av? And Bay? Do any of them know?"

Trini shook her head. "You're the first person I told."

"Why me?"

"Because silly." Trini leaned in towards Kimberly as if sharing a secret. Her dimples appeared in her cheeks and she finally gave a sincere smile. "You're my best friend." Kimberly 'awwd' and reached out, wrapping her arms around Trini's neck and holding her tightly. Trini reached out and hugged her as well.

"You're my best friend too."

The girls continued to sit and hug each other until they felt the time was right to let go. And even then, they still didn't' go back inside until the bell rang for their next class. They needed that time to themselves, to digest what was going on and figuring out ways to stay in touch. Finally they went back to their classes and hung out with their friends as the day went on. Finally, it was lunch time and Trini knew she couldn't hold the news back any longer. The rangers got in line and grabbed their trays, starting to push them along.

"So now that we've gotten through another half day of school, what are our plans for this weekend?" Zack asked from the middle of the line between Tommy and Kimberly. "There's gotta be something that we can do that'll keep me excited for it."

"You don't have a date with Angela this weekend?" Avalon leaned forward to ask him, carefully balancing her tray on the line with one hand.

"Nah." Zack moved his lower jaw to the side. "She hasn't been talking to me."

Avalon winced. "Sorry," she apologized quietly.

"Hey." Zack leaned over to look back at her. "Don't apologize," he said sternly. "Seriously. You don't ever have to apologize to me."

Jason gave the black ranger a funny look as the others exchanged glances around him. "Is there something you want to tell us, bro?" He asked him. Zack shook his head. "Ok then." He smirked at Tommy who gave a knowing smile back at him. "Anyway, I don't have any plans for the weekend so I'm free for anything."

"Gee, that's a shock," Avalon shot back. "Rudolph not having a date or any plans at all." Her eyebrows lowered. "Is there anything _you_ want to tell _us_ , mate?" Laughing, she received the high-five that Tommy gave her.

"Bite me," Jason replied.

This sent the rangers into another round of laughter. They walked through their line and finished paying for their food. Avalon hesitated at the end of the line, looking over the tray, her brown eyes scanning the contents of it. It was going to be unbalanced if she tried to pick it up with one hand. Plus, her backpack was weighing her down on her other side. Twisting her mouth, Avalon walked forward and slowly slid her hand underneath the tray then brought her knee up to balance it so she could get a good grip.

"Here, I got it." Jason turned and grabbed onto Avalon's tray, moving it away from her knee.

"I can do it," Avalon insisted.

"Yeah, and end up with your lunch all over the floor," he insisted. "It's no big deal."

Avalon gave him a wry smile. "You can't stand not doing the whole 'knight in shining armor' thing can you?" She asked, falling to step beside him. "I mean, you're always helping people, you're environmentally conscious, and you're always willing to give up your life to protect everyone in Angel Grove."

Jason's right eyebrow lowered as he turned his head to look at her. "So do you."

"Yeah, but I'm not perfect. You can do no wrong."

"I'm glad you think so."

Avalon rolled her eyes as she Jason gave her a charming smile. The rangers arrived at the table and sat down with their friends. Jason place Avalon's tray down in front of her before sitting on the other side of the table with Zack, Trini, and Billy. The rangers went through their lunch talking, laughing, and making plans for the weekend. They were going to head out to the beach—which worked for Kim as she mentally changed the plans for Avalon's welcome home party to be a beach one as she knew Avalon practically lived at the beach when in Australia—and hopefully have a day where they didn't have to worry so much about Rita and Zedd and what they were planning next.

"So, guys," Trini said, getting everyone's attention. "I have to tell you something." Beside her, Kimberly practically deflated next to her, crumpling in on herself. Tommy frowned, reaching out to grab her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. Kimberly smiled a sad smile. Zack made the motion of sticking his finger down his throat.

Billy stifled a laugh, one being a bit tired of their relationship at times—he could admit they had their moments of when they were too preoccupied with each other—then covered it up with a cough. (No point in having the pink ranger get angry at him). He looked over at Trini and she skillfully avoided his gaze. He frowned. _What's going on?_

"What' sup, Sunny?"Avalon pressed. "You're kinda worrying me here."

Trini gave her a warm smile, and then her face fell again. With a sigh, she pushed her lunch tray away from her and rested her elbows on the table. Smoothing her hair from her face, she let out a heavy sigh, as if the weight of the world on her shoulders was bringing her down. Billy reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder, gently rubbing it. He felt her relax a bit, though she continued to stay silent.

"Trini," Jason said. "You can tell us."

"Funny, that's what Kim said," Trini replied.

"You told her before you told me?!" Zack shook his head. "And I thought we were closer than that, Tri."

"Don't joke dude, I think this is serious," Tommy insisted. Zack nodded and fell silent.

Trini sighed again. "Guys. You need to know…my parents are going to Vietnam…and I'm going to go with them."

"What?" Zack blurted.

The rangers were cut off by the sound of their communicators going off. Zack let out an exasperated sigh, Kimberly buried her face in her hands, Avalon muttered what sounded like 'son of a bitch' under her breath, Jason's hands clenched into fists, Tommy looked around to be sure no one had heard them, and Billy had his eyes on Trini.

She was leaving…

What?

Tommy leaned forward and pressed his finger against his communicator, causing the rangers to leaned forward to listen in. "What's up, Zordon?"

"Rangers, Sagittaria is attacking the city," Alpha's voice warbled through. "It's bad."

"We're on our way," Tommy said.

"Take heed rangers." Now Zordon's voice came over the communicator, grim and serious. "This fight will be more difficult than ones you've faced before. He's come back stronger than the last time and he isn't allowing anyone to get in his way."

The rangers got up from the table and looked around before hurrying over to a corner out of sight from the rest of the students and the teachers that gathered in the cafeteria. Tommy looked around once more to be sure things were secure before he turned to the orange ranger. "Teleport to the command center and see what you can do to help Alpha and Zordon," he instructed.

"No way," Avalon said quickly. "I may not be able to use my right arm, but I'm dominant on my left. I can still fight."

"At the risk of causing permanent damage, I have to suggest against it," Billy said.

Avalon scowled but seemed to think about what he had said. Then, deciding that it was better to have full use of both of her arms, brought her communicator up and tapped the button on the side, teleporting to the command center in a flash of orange light.

Tommy glanced at the other rangers to make sure they were ready then threw his hands behind his back. "It's Morphin' Time! Tiger zord!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers morphed and teleported to the location Sagittaria was destroying the city. The rangers gasped, halted in their spots as they witnessed the carnage that had befallen their city. Most of the monster attacks that had gone down in Angel Grove had been after school, close to the time where the residents of Angel Grove were done with their day and were headed home. It was the best time for them to take the evacuation routes out to the desert and other close cities that would house the for the time being.

This was different. This time, Sagittaria had attacked in the middle of the day, where people were still at work, blissfully unaware of the danger that was about to befall them before it was too late. Even where the rangers stood they could see bodies lying motionless on the ground, cars were at a standstill, abandoned. There were major blasts in some of the nearby buildings where office workers were poking their heads out and shouting for help while residents continued to stream into the streets, abandoning their buildings. Angel Grove had become used to repairing the damage done by Rita's and Zedd's monsters, but this was the worst anyone had ever seen.

"Oh my God," Kimberly breathed.

"This is worse than I thought," Trini agreed.

"Dude," Zack murmured.

Jason, Billy, and Tommy remained silent.

All of a sudden a purple beam of light appeared at their side and Bailey, morphed into the Ankylosaurus ranger completed their group. She let out a gasp as she looked around at the destruction around her. They didn't have long to look at the destruction as a barrage of arrows flew their way. The rangers ducked and rolled out of the way as they collided with the ground, sending shrapnel of asphalt all over.

Tommy and Kimberly, who had ducked behind a car, peered around the side and watched as Sagittaria continued to fire arrows.

"It's like he's not even looking for us," Kimberly whispered. "He's just attacking."

"Or he's trying to draw us out," Tommy said. He looked over to the side and motioned for Jason, Bailey, Zack, Trini, and Billy to join them. They ran out from behind their cover and crouched down behind the car. "OK, it looks like he hasn't seen us yet. We need to go for a quick and strong approach, attack all at once and wait for him to regain and go on from there."

"What's the plan?" Zack insisted. His gloved hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly and he was breathing heavily. This destruction was different from anything they had seen before. He couldn't stand seeing all of those people…now knowing if they were dead or alive…

_"Oh, it's you again."_

Letting out an angry growl, Zack rapidly shook his head, focusing on the white ranger's words. _No, Zack! Don't think about that right now! You can't think about that right now._

"You guys have to use your abilities in one giant attack," Tommy continued. "Maybe from surrounding sides, something to get his attention, then Bailey and I will go in after that with Saba and her Ankylo Blaster."

"But our weapons didn't work against him last night," Kimberly reminded him.

"It didn't work until we destroyed his bow," Trini reminded her. "That's what held all of his power. He must be weaker now."

"And angry," Bailey added. Under her helmet, she squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of another blast of Sagittaria's arrows colliding with the ground and screams. "If we're going to do something, we're going to have to do it now."

"You got it." Tommy pointed to four rangers. "You surround him; we'll come up from behind."

"Right."

Jason led Zack, Trini, Billy, and Kimberly out from behind the car and they charged towards Sagittaria. Trini watched as the humanoid monster turned around and glared at the rangers. "You will pay!" He screamed. Holding out his hands, arrows appeared in mid-air in front of him and shot towards the rangers. The five original rangers leapt into the air, dodging the arrows.

 _How'd he do that?_ Trini thought. _His bow was destroyed._ She ran to the area that Tommy had instructed her to and held her ground, waiting for the others to position. Sagittaria continued to fire of arrows every now and then, causing the rangers to flip and jump out of the way. Before they could attack, putties suddenly appeared in front of the rangers. "Not you, too!" Trini cried in disbelief before fighting them. She ducked out of the way as a putty tried to grab her and elbowed it in the chest.

She continued fighting putties, focusing all of her attention on them, doing her best not to let Sagittaria completely out of her sight. What she couldn't understand was that he had turned from the rangers and started to attack the city. _Is there something that we don't know? Does it want us or is it trying to distract us?_

"Saba!"

"Ankylo Blaster!'

Tommy and Bailey must've had the same thought because they flew overhead, producing their weapons. As Bailey continued to fire spikes towards the monster when it got free, Tommy brought it into a close combat with his sword. Each time Saba would be brought down to the monster, Sagittaria would bring up his hand and blocked it as if swatting a fly.

Trini continued to knock back the putties until they all crumbled to dust. "Power Daggers!" She brought forth her power weapons and jumped forward, bringing herself into the fight as well. Her combat had to be done up close, due to the shorthand range of the daggers. "You're going to pay for what you've done to all those people!" She brought out a dagger and slashed Sagittaria across the shoulder.

He whipped around and glared at her.

Everything went quiet.

The sounds of her friends fighting off the putties behind her faded away.

She could sense the pure evil that rested inside Sagittaria and it scared her. The cold, gripping evil that enclosed around her. It wasn't until the sounds came back around her that she realized she was stuck. While he had used his hypnotic gaze on her, Sagittaria had summoned and arrow that he had bent around her, pinning her arms to her side. And as she started to struggle, he smiled a shark-like smile, bringing his arm back as a long spear-like arrow appeared in his hand. He swiftly brought his arm down and there was a split second of blinding pain, white hot, and a loud scream tore out of Trini's throat.

The pain.

Oh, the pain.

It almost caused her to black out. Gritting her teeth, Trini turned her head to the side and looked down to see that he had thrown the arrow into her shoulder and was holding onto it. As the seconds passed, he continued to push the arrow into her shoulder further and further, flames erupting around the end of the arrow that stuck out of her shoulder and her skin. It burned. It burned her from the inside out, she could feel it.

"Trini!" Billy called. Behind her, Billy grabbed the arm of the putty that was in his way and delivered a blow to the 'Z' in the center of its chest. "Power Lance!" He summoned his weapon and used it as leverage against the ground, launching himself up towards Trini and landed on the ground next to Sagittaria. "Water Pulse!" He held his lance out in front of him and from the winged tip came a blast of hard water, shooting towards Sagittaria.

Without his bow to protect him, Sagittaria got knocked over by the blast, dropping Trini and knocking her to the ground. She fell to the ground on her side, the shoulder still sticking out of her shoulder. "Trini!" Kimberly, having finished off her putties, hurried to her friend's side, half-laying on top of her to protect her. "You're going to be OK, Trini?

 _Am I?_ Trini thought. _Am I going to be OK?_ She continued to write on the ground, feeling the burn spread to the rest of her body. _Can I leave knowing the others are going to face more monsters like this? I already made my decision…can I live with the decision I already made?_ Her seized her then, keeping her from tucking in on herself. She could only watch as Billy, Tommy, and Bailey continued to fight for her.

Jason and Zack continued to hold off the swarm of putties that seemed to come in waves. Once one was defeated, another one appeared in their place. "These guys don't know when to give up!" Zack flung himself towards Jason and rolled over his back before landing on the ground and doing a high jump kick that stuck two putties before he landed on the ground.

"As long as this guy doesn't get bigger, we won't need to call in the extra cavalry," Jason reminded him. "We need to hold off our zords as long as we can. If this guy is this strong…"

"Ankylo Charge!" Bailey rolled to the side and pulled up the action of her weapon. This time, instead of her blaster shooting off spies, it shot out a large burst of energy from the front, like a canon. The laserlike energy formed the shape of a spike and drilled into Sagittaria's side, spinning him to the ground.

"NO!" He howled. His eyes flashed a manic red as he got to his feet. "NO! NO! NO! You're not going—you can't defeat me! I'm too strong—too strong! Toostrongtoostong." He gave a bark of twisted laughter and with a loud scream of fury, he raised his arms and arrows appeared in the air above them, shooting down towards the ground as if they were coming out of a machine gun.

With a grunt, Kimberly threw more of her body over Trini to protect her but it didn't help. The arrows rained down and in Trini's already weakened state, she could feel herself losing control until she de-morphed, painfully writing on the ground. Looking up, she saw Kimberly's suit half melted away, revealing smooth skin underneath, her helmet broken. One of her brown eyes was looking at Trini sympathetically, a tear sliding down her cheek.

Trini braved a comforting smile.

Kimberly brought her head down and rested her helmet on Trini's cheek.

Breathing heavily, Trini continued to look around, watching as the other rangers pulled themselves up from the ground, their suits burned and broken as well. It would take forever for them to be repaired before it could be brought back.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

Trini and Kimberly turned and watched as Aisha stood in front of Sagittaria, glaring at him. Her blouse was torn at the shoulder and her face was smudged with dust. She had been in one of the nearby buildings when Sagittaria started to attack, sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office. There was suddenly a large explosion the lights dimmed, dust flew around her, and she could feel nothing but pressure of a wall that had landed on her and hear the sounds of people around her screaming. It had taken her a while to get out, and then she had stumbled into the street and watched the rangers get blasted by Sagittaria.

She remembered Rocky's getting a power morpher and how brave he had been to stand up to Sagittaria the first time and figured it was her turn to help. The rangers had helped her before; she agreed to keep their secret. She needed to do something for them.

Sagittaria turned around and smirked at the girl, laughing. "You think you can handle me? You wimpy little human?"

"It's better than hiding behind my powers," Aisha continued. She brought her fists up in defense. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"

Sagittaria glared and sent a wave of arrows towards her. Aisha expertly leapt over the arrows and charged towards Sagittaria. She ran up the front of a car that had been abandoned and jumped, doing a flying kick. Her foot struck Sagittaria in the face and he stumbled back. She countered with a combination of punches and kicks, feet and fists flying. Whether or not he couldn't handle the barrage of attacks coming his way, Sagittaria disappeared from sight.

Even without his bow, that had made him almost invincible the battle before, he had managed to defeat the rangers. Aisha slid back down the front of the car and hurried over to Trini as the other rangers de-morphed. She reached out and helped up the yellow ranger. "Are you ok?" Aisha asked anxiously. Despite having faced off against a monster that could've killed her in seconds, there was still a bubbly, friendly light in her eyes.

"Yeah," Kimberly said. "We are, now."

"Thank you, Aisha," Trini added.

"Anytime."

Suddenly a bright light shone from the front of the yellow ranger's shorts where her power morpher sat. The light continued to glow and beamed from the morpher and landed in Aisha's free hand. The three girls watched as the light faded and a copy of her power morpher resided in Aisha's hands.

"The morpher," Kimberly breathed.

"It copied," Trini added.

Aisha's smile widened and she closed her hands tightly over the power morpher. Before anyone could say anything, the rangers were teleported back to the Command Center where Avalon and Alpha were waiting anxiously.

"Rangers!" Alpha cried as they appeared.

"Are you lot all right?" Avalon hurried over to them, eyes filled with concern. She went over to Tommy's side and peered at his face, frowning as she made sure he was OK. His eyes moved to her and he nodded, filling with Avalon with relief before she turned to her sister and wrapping her good around her in a tight hug, holding her to him. "I would've helped out if I could." She growled. "I swear to God, I would fucking blast them all away if I could!"

"Hold that anger for the next time you can fight, Kid," Zack said to her, wiping soot off his face. "We could use it."

"What he did…" Trini said. "What he did to all of those people out there." She closed her eyes and turned into Billy, holding onto him. He held her tightly, his pressure increasing every few seconds. She could feel his apology in that hug, apologizing for not being able to help her. She hugged him back.

It was OK. It was better to think about how things would continue once she was gone. No matter how much it hurt.

"As horrifying as the events were, I'm sorry to say it's only just the beginning," Zordon said to the rangers. "Rita and Zedd have done far worse in the years before coming to earth and I'm afraid they may do the same as time goes on. You have to dig deep rangers, and continue to keep your goal of saving Angel Grove and saving earth."

"We know, Zordon," Jason said with a grim nod.

Zordon nodded back then turned to Aisha, who stood at the side, tightly holding onto her morpher. "Not that we only have bad news. I'd like to congratulate Aisha as she now has the power of the Saber-Tooth Tiger to morph into the yellow ranger."

Aisha beamed.

"I hope what happened today has shown you the importance of what the rangers are doing."

"I understand, Zordon," Aisha said. Her voice was serious, but her eyes gave away her excitement. She was ready to help the rangers when the time came. It was an honor.

"Don't dwell on what happened today, rangers," Alpha added. "You all tried your best. Please get some rest, go back to school and don't worry. You'll get him next time."

"Thanks, Alpha." Bailey went over to the animatronic robot and gave him a hug. He gently patted her back in reply. The rangers then teleported back to their school.

Trini sighed, rubbing her wound as she walked from around the corner of the cafeteria. The students and teachers were still there, oblivious to the attack that happened on the city. The news would come in soon but that was the last thing she was worried about. Feeling a hand slide into hers, she looked over at Billy who looked back at before leaning in and giving her a quick peck on the lips. It surprised her. He wasn't the kind of person that liked PDA, blushing at the thought and even rolling his eyes from time to time when Kimberly and Tommy exhibited it for everyone to see.

But this was different.

He had heard what she said about leaving; now it was an even bigger monster for them to face.


	25. Stripped of Power

**Chapter 25**

_Stripped Of Power_

* * *

 

Zack drummed his pen on the notebook that sat in front of him and ran his hands over his face. Homework was _not_ going to get done that night. Not when the memories of what happened were still so fresh in his mind. He knew what he had done was wrong, he knew that he was taking a big risk when he had gone to see Summer and Skye, but he had to do what he felt was right and in that moment, he knew it was right.

Thinking about it now…as much as he enjoyed the fact that he inflicted so much pain on them as he could, he recognized there were a million and one things that could've and still would go wrong. Instead of protecting his friend and making sure nothing else would happen, he had put a huge target on his own back. A target bigger than Rita's and Zedd's monsters and one he wasn't sure he would be able to survive.

 _For once in your life you went ahead with your emotions and what you thought, and now it's coming back to kick your ass,_ Zack thought to himself. And that was only moments before he felt his body start to tingle in that familiar way he knew meant he was being forcibly teleported to the Command Center. The saving grace of it was that it was late at night and his parents wouldn't be in his room to check in on him at any point in time. They were dead asleep and wouldn't know he was gone. What sort of a nasty shock would it be if they came to his room and found him gone?

Probably more if they found he had willingly run away. That was his first reaction after he had done what he did. He turned tail and ran from the warehouse as quickly as he could. Once he arrived home, he had barricaded himself in his room and paced back and forth for hours, wondering what to do, wondering what Zordon and Alpha would say. And a couple of days had gone by….and nothing from the two of them. He should've known his luck was going to run out soon.

Once his feet landed on the ground, Zack turned around, chewing his lower lip as he faced his friends. Alpha was turned in his direction and there was no other moment than that one that Zack wished he had eyes, that way he could tell what sort of look the robot was giving him. Was it disappointment? Compassion? Worry? Fear? Regret? He was only aware of that tiny, red shifting back and forth over the face of his chrome dome. Zordon, however, was giving Zack the sternest look he had ever seen in his life. Not that Zordon was one to smile much anyway, but this was an expression of completely disappointment and maybe even anger.

"Zordon…" Zack started but trailed off. He knew he had no way of trying to defend himself. He had broken one of Zordon's cardinal rules.

Closing his eyes, he could see it all happening again.

Skye had let his guard down as soon as he had dropped his head to look over the money that Zack had just given him. Zack took the opportunity to dive forward, bringing a fist back and shoving it straight forward into Skye's face. He had thrown the punch so hard that he could feel Skye's nose break under his knuckles. With a howl, Skye stumbled backwards and his hands flew up to his nose, his pistol resting precariously close to his temple. Summer, who had seemed disinterested in the conversation that two had been having, let out a screech of fury and raced towards Zack and punched him.

Zack, anticipating Summer's addition to the fight, had started to duck back out of the way and Summer's fist went flying overhead. He grabbed her arm and flipped her over onto the floor. Ignoring her cry of pain, he whipped back around and lashed out a high jump kick, slamming into Skye as he moved to attack him once more. His foot caught Skye in the stomach and he stumbled back, holding onto his wound. Summer, who was still lying on her back on the ground, rolled onto her side, trying to catch her breath. That slam had taken more out of her than she had thought it would. He had moved faster than she or Skye would've though.

Skye glared at Zack as he continued to try and take in as many breaths as he could. This guy…he was ruining everything that he had worked hard for. He was working to bring him into the Vipers after their numbers dwindled down and he knew he could do it, too. He didn't have to have Chase's permission to get it done, as much as the leader was doing his best to keep them around, he wasn't doing it well. He had started to change and Skye had seen it. It was time to knock him out of the way and take over the gang himself, so that they could keep doing what they were supposed to. They were a family and they had to work together to make sure they would stick around and continue to run the group that had taken so many of their friends and family and everything they had known.

He sure as well wasn't going to allow the High-Flyers take over their territory and then move into the North Brigade's and Savage Scorpion's area afterwards. Not when they had put so much work into it. They just needed to bring others in, from Angel Grove and wherever else they could get their man power from.

But there was something about this guy. He hadn't had any experience that the rest of the Vipers had, and still Skye could tell he would be easily to mold. A few threats here and there, a bit of work dealing drugs and he knew he would have him. But now…Skye lowered the gun that he had pressed by his temple. He knew what he had to do.

Zack noticed Skye's movement with the gun and reacted quickly. Darting to the side, he did some of his fancy footwork that made his hip hop kido popular amongst those that watched him and his friends spar at the youth center. Skye let his guard down once more, Zack knew he would. He wasn't the smartest one of the group, that's why Chase was the leader and as Avalon had explained it once he was so charismatic that he could find a way to talk anyone into anything. Skye was a follower that wanted to prove he could be as good and his own selfish greed and manipulation drove him forward. Zack came to a stop and turned on his feet a couple of times, gaining momentum, then lifted his foot and slammed his heel into the side of Skye's head, knocking him straight to the floor.

He had exerted all of his frustration and anger on the two that night, for as long as he could before becoming exhausted and. He had run from that warehouse as fast as he could. The rest of his days had been filled, trying to block it out of his head and keep the other rangers from knowing. Nothing had been on the news, there hadn't been any threats, and as far as he was concerned, the police still couldn't find them. Knowing he had done something very wrong. Not only had he pissed of very angry and very dangerous gang members, but he had also broken one of Zordon's' rules.

_Never escalate a battle unless Rita forces you._

Rita hadn't forced him to fight; he had escalated a fight on his own, on a human than a monster no less.

"Zachary," Zordon said, his voice booming around the otherwise quiet Command Center. Not even the computers were emitting their tiny beeps and squeaks that generally surrounded the rangers. "It is of my concern to know you have broken one of the rules of being a power ranger that you have agreed to when our existence was first brought to you."

"I know, Zordon." Zack licked his lips. "I know I was running a risk but…" he shook his head. "I couldn't…I couldn't sit back and let them continue to do that. I couldn't let them keep trying to get me into dealing drugs…to constantly fill Avalon with fear that they would come back and hurt her and her sister or drag her back into the life she was desperate to leave." He clenched his hands into fists, surprised to find he was shaking. "I'm sorry."

"We know you're sorry, Zack," Alpha said. He sounded sorry too. If it were possible for him to cry, the black ranger knew he would be crying buckets at that moment. "And…so are we."

Zack frowned. _So are we?_ What did that mean? The word swirled around in his head and he looked back and forth from Alpha to Zordon.

Over and over.

Silently pleading that they weren't saying what he thought they were saying. Hadn't he been doing a good thing? He was trying to protect his friend; to make sure things would get better for all of them. Had he thought things would turn out this way…he wouldn't have had done it in the same way. He would try to protect her in a different way, have his father or maybe even Jason's father, and get a restraining order on them.

Something.

Anything.

Though there was a tiny part of him that wouldn't have done anything different. Though he reacted a bit quicker than he would've anticipated, stemming off of emotions he had kept dormant as long as he could burst forth part of him was glad he had done what he did. Hopefully it would give the two teenagers something to think about if they ever tried to harm someone else. But his mother and father knew people who had gotten sucked into gang life and knew how hard it really was to get out of it. Especially when it brought in more money and power than any 9 to 5 job ever could.

"Unfortunately Zachary, the Power takes precedence over what Alpha and I believe," Zordon continued. Zack swallowed thickly and nodded. "And while we believe that you have exhibited many qualities that proves you do, indeed, have what it takes to be a power ranger…the Power is what makes the decision."

Alpha shuffled over towards Zack. "Please hand over your power morpher, Zack," Alpha said.

Zack's heart dropped to his feet. Everything became so real to him in that moment. The Power didn't want him to be a ranger anymore. He had broken the rules and now he had to suffer the consequences. Reaching into his jeans pocket, Zack pulled out his morpher and held it in his hand. As he continued to hold onto it, the power morpher glowed a bright white color and as the three watched, the light shot into the air, through the ceiling, and out of sight.

"The Power has come with these rules for a reason," Zordon continued. "It hasn't happened very often but we have seen instances where some rangers have gone corrupt with power and had to have them taken away."

"I'm sad to say we have to take your powers away from you, too," Alpha said. He reached out and took Zack's power morpher, taking a few steps back away from him.

Zack immediately felt himself grow weaker the moment the power morpher left his hand. The Power Coin had been directly tied to his life force, his human life force. But now…it was severed. He wasn't a ranger anymore, he had no powers, and he had no way to help the rangers if another battle came along.

He had let them down.

"I'm sorry, Zack," Alpha apologized.

Zack ran a hand over his mouth, doing his best to keep the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks from falling. "So'm I," he said. "So'm I."

…

..

.

Adam Park had been sleeping peacefully when he suddenly woke up. There was no reason for it. He had been in a deep slumber and all of a sudden he wasn't. Sitting up he glanced around his darkened bedroom. There weren't any shadows moving along the wall, no footsteps creaking outside his door, nothing that would have given him the idea that a supernatural experience had awakened him. Not that he believed in ghosts anyway.

He flopped back down onto is pillow, putting his arms behind his head. A cool breeze wafted over him from the open window. It was a still, quiet night. No sound from Stone Canyon as the residents were all asleep.

"Was I having a nightmare?" Adam murmured to himself. He couldn't remember what it was. Something calling to him maybe? Had he heard someone calling his name? No. Not someone. Something. Something was calling to him. He could still feel it in his body.

Sitting up, Adam twisted to the side and reached out, grabbing onto the string of his lamp and pulled it. The light turned on, illuminating the room in a comforting glow. The light glinted off of something on the table top and he looked down to see something sitting there. Reaching out, Adam grabbed onto it and held it in his hand, running his finger over the gold coin in the front.

The coin flashed a black/grey color as he did so.

Adam slowly started to smile. He recognized it as a power morpher, very similar to the ones that Rocky and Aisha had received. He was a power ranger. Cool.

Then his smile faded. It was a lot of responsibility to be protect everyone around them. He had seen the kinds of things the rangers had to face day after day on the news and a few times in person. Did he really have what it took to be a ranger as well? Physically, he knew he did. He had been studying martial arts since he was a young boy and practiced it for hours on end. But the point of learning martial arts was for discipline and self-restraint. Would he be going against what the rules of it were by becoming a ranger?

The power coin flashed again and Adam was suddenly filled with strength, something had just entered his body and made him feel invincible. Smiling, Adam placed the power morpher back on his bedside table and reached up, turning off the lamp. He settled into his pillow with a smile on his face.

If that wasn't a sign, he didn't know what was.

* * *

 

Tommy nervously sat in his parents' room, after having been instructed to go in there after dinner. His parents still hadn't joined him and now he was trying to figure out if he had done something wrong. He and Kim had been…studying after school because her mother was going on a date. Yeah, they had studied for a while, they _hadn't_ studied for a while—who could blame him really?

He had a cute girlfriend who kept giving him sly smiles and hints until he was aware of what she wanted—along with having a bad memory he didn't take hints particularly well. He couldn't help himself that after a few minutes of her leaning into his side because she 'couldn't see the book' that he got a raging hard on. Of course he had been a bit embarrassed and of course Kimberly laughed at him, it was awkward for a moment, but then she had kissed him and things were OK.

They continued to kiss, lost in each other and their sense that had woken up until they heard the sound of Mrs. Hart entering the house and quickly composed themselves. She hadn't seen anything, Tommy was sure about that. So he couldn't have been brought into the room to talk about that. So what was it? Had something else happened? Had he gotten a bad grade on a test he didn't remember to have signed? Did he break something in the backyard while he had practiced his martial arts after dinner? It wouldn't have been the first time.

The white ranger winced as the crashing of his mother's ceramic planter entered his mind once more. It had been funny at the time; until he found out he was expected to pay for it himself.

So he made sure he didn't get too overzealous with his practices after that.

 _What is it?_ Tommy rested his chin in his hand. He had no idea. Thankfully he didn't have to think about it too much, as his parents then entered the room behind him, both with serious expressions on their faces. He watched them as they sat down on their bed, facing their son. Tommy's eyebrows furrowed together. He could tell from the looks on their faces that he hadn't done anything wrong, but it was still a serious conversation to be had. "Is everything OK?" He asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Tommy," Mr. Oliver said. He smiled warmly at his son. "There's just something we wanted to talk to you about. It's a serious thing and we wanted to run it by you first."

After a moment of silence, the white ranger's eyes widened slightly. He glanced at his mother, zeroing in on her stomach. "You're not pregnant are you?"

There was a moment of stunned silence and the Olivers started to laugh. "No, sweetie, I'm not pregnant," Mrs. Oliver reassured him.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked. "I mean, I know that I may be around a bit when you and Dad want to be alone. But I know you're not dead—"

"Tommy!" Mr. Oliver held up a hand, effectively cutting off his son. Mrs. Oliver had placed her hand on her cheeks and turned away from her son, laughing quietly to herself. Mr. Oliver then gave his son a knowing smile and although Tommy had brought up the subject of sex first, it made him a bit sick to his stomach. It was one thing to be acutely aware that his parents weren't dead, were still clearly in love with each other, and indeed did have sex. It was another to have it confirmed to him.

Maybe his bad memory also gave him the inability to keep him from speaking the first thing that came to mind.

"No, we're not pregnant," Mr. Oliver reassured him. He exchanged a glance with his wife, who had finally turned back to face his son. "But…it's funny that you mentioned that. Because what we have to talk about kind of does have to do with that."

"Ok…" Tommy brushed his long hair behind his shoulders, leaning back so he could get a good gauge on his parents.

Mrs. Oliver let out a low sigh, brushing her own hair behind her ear. This was something she had wanted for a long time. To be able to have more kids other than just Tommy. He had already been a miracle for her, having adopted him when he was young. And while she knew she couldn't have kids of her own, she always wanted more, a sibling for Tommy. But the timing had never been right, they moved too much or their schedules were too busy.

But now was the perfect time.

She hoped he would agree.

"Tommy, us parents have been talking about the situation Avalon and Bailey are put in," Mrs. Oliver started. Tommy nodded. "How things are getting better for them now that they've been at the Cranston's house for a while. And you kids have been such great influences on them, David and Lacey told me that Avalon's even been thinking of getting involved with some organizations on campus."

"Hey, that's great," Tommy said with a bright smile.

"And Bailey's been doing well with her martial arts as well," Mr. Oliver said. He reached out and slapped his son on the shoulder, grasping it with a warm squeeze. "All thanks to you."

"I can't take all the credit," Tommy said modestly. "Jason's been helping a lot as well and she's really talented. She's a natural. I'm glad she decided that she wanted to learn how." The Olivers nodded and exchanged another glance. Tommy followed their gaze and his face screwed up in confusion once more. "Not that it matters, but what suddenly brought that up?"

"As we said, us parents have been talking about what's been going on with them and David and Lacey have brought our attention that they don't have a green card or anything that will allow them to stay in the United States," Mrs. Oliver explained. Tommy's mouth dropped open. "I don't even understand how they were able to stay here for so long without anyone finding out. Most likely, because of whom their father is, but as it is, they're not legally able to stay in the US."

Tommy's lower jaw shifted to the side. Not only was he thinking about their well being as a whole, but there was a part of him that thought of the rangers too. Trini had just dropped the bombshell that she was leaving to go to Vietnam soon, something they hadn't talked about in full yet, and now they were probably losing two more in Avalon and Bailey all because of a mistake that had been made. Not _a_ mistake, but many mistakes that had been made.

"What?" He shook his head slightly. He was numb. "W-what…what does that mean? Exactly?"

"Sweetie, we talked about this for a long time, even before they moved in with the Cranstons," Mrs. Oliver continued. She reached out a hand and grabbed onto Tommy's, gently squeezing it with her own. "And your father and I think this is the best situation that would work for them as well as for us…if they agree to it."

"Agree to what?"

Mr. Oliver now took the leak, clearing his throat so he had his son's attention. "Tommy…what do you think about us adopting Avalon and Bailey?" He asked. "Considering what's happened… Caine Scott says there's a very high chance they will be charged with neglect and lose custody. What do you think of us adopting them?"

Tommy's mouth dropped open even further, so quickly he felt the sides of his jaw start to ache. Adopt them? He would have two new sisters; his friends would be his family. They would be given a better life and finally understand that the world wasn't out to get them and there was more to life than the fear and darkness they had already experienced.

"Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah, I'm…I think that's a great idea," he said. He squeezed his mother's hand back as well. "I know you've always wanted me to have siblings, Mom and I'm still so glad that you gave me a chance and adopted me. I'm proud of you for wanting to give them a chance too." He kissed her on the cheek, causing his mother to blush.

"Now, don't get too excited," Mr. Oliver warned him. "We haven't run this through everything and there's still a chance that even if we apply for adoption that we'll be granted it. And even if we are granted the _process_ to adopt them, it'll take a while before it's finalized. So I don't want you to say anything until we know for sure if it's something that will go forward."

"And we wanted to get your opinion on it," Mrs. Oliver added.

Tommy shrugged; a big smile on his face. "I think it's a good idea. Something that, when they can know, will make them feel wanted."

"Well…OK! We'll put the application in as soon as possible, and don't be surprised if a social worker or someone wants to come by and check out how we live so we can be approved," Mr. Oliver said. "And there may be some papers you have to sign as well."

"No problem."

Tommy slid off of his parents' bed and left the room, going back to his. Not only did he think it was a good idea for them in general, but it was a good idea for the rangers. A good way to raise morale. The team had been hit with so many setbacks lately, including the massive loss against Sagittaria and good news coming from anywhere would lift their spirits enough to continue to work together as a team.

Plus, he was finally getting what he had secretly wanted for a long time; a brother or sister and now he was getting two sisters.

* * *

 

Avalon let out a huff of annoyance before bringing her hand up and chewing on her fingernails. It was a bad habit she thought she had broken ages ago and now it had come back again. Her nerves were working her and at the moment she wanted nothing but to go back to what she now called home, get in bed and go to sleep. But Lt. Stone had left her a message saying she was wanted down at the police station. So here she was, sitting in the waiting room with Caine Scott, who was still acting as her lawyer, on one side and Jason on the other.

As the second passed Avalon continued to chew on her nails before leaning forward and dropped her feet from the metal bar that ran amongst the bottom of her chair onto the floor. Once her feet hit the tile, her knees started to bob up and down rapid-fire. After a few minutes of this, Jason reached out and grabbed onto her knee, holding her still.

"Would you stop doing that?" He asked her.

"Sorry." Avalon leaned back in her seat, slouching down as far as she could without becoming uncomfortable. She carefully rolled her wounded shoulder, wincing as a flash of pain struck her. "I just want to know what these guys want."

"If it wasn't important they wouldn't have asked you to come in," Caine reassured her. He sat in his chair as calm and collected as ever. "Otherwise they would've told you whatever they need to know over the phone."

"That makes me feel _loads_ better," Avalon said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "I mean, the fact that they could've lured me here just to arrest me is fucking hysterical." She thought for a moment. "Oh! Or maybe they're taking in Skye and Summer and are going to bring them through here; _accidentally_ let them loose and I'll be shot execution style."

Jason gave her a funny look. "You have an active imagination."

"It's not an 'active imagination', mate. It's paranoia. Sheer paranoia. With Skye and Summer still out there…I don't know if they're going to come into school and look for me or wait until I'm one hundered percent alone or what."

"Hey. We're all here for you. You know that. We'll make sure nothing else happens to you."

Avalon snorted. "You can't promise that. No one can. I know how they work; I still operate the way they want to. If they want to find me, they will." She shifted to the side to face him, glancing at Caine over her shoulder as she did so. He was busy reading a newspaper, but she knew what she had to say could still be overheard and it was something she didn't want him to hear.

Jason looked back at her, eyebrows furrowing for a moment, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"I still have a lot of their stuff," she said under her breath. She bobbed her head back and forth. "Drugs and weapons and stuff and I need to get it back to them."

"Are you crazy?" Jason raised an eyebrow. He gently shook his head. "Scratch that, I know you're crazy if you thinking about giving it back."

Avalon gave him a sickly sweet smile. "Better than having a light bulb at the end of my nose, Rudolph," she said and flicked his nose to further prove her point. Jason merely brought his hand up and pushed hers away, otherwise not reacting to the taunt. Avalon pouted, her shoulders slumping. "You're not playing right," she whined.

Jason laughed lightly. "What?"

"You're supposed to be annoyed when I make fun of you."

"It's not annoying."

Avalon's pout increased and she turned back to face the front again. At least it had taken them off the topic of conversation. She did intend on getting the Vipers their stuff back. Sure, she was out now, but that didn't mean they were going to take it in stride. Summer and Skye had just lost their leader, Skye's best friend, and Summer's fuck buddy. She had never been jealous of her and Chase together, though it was obvious that Summer hated the idea of her getting closer to him than she herself was. And now that she was the reason Chase had been put in jail, when they all knew that Summer had been the one who shot Avalon she knew Summer was going get revenge in some way.

Maybe giving their stuff back would appease them or something. Let them know that she had no qualms over what happened that she was out, she did what she was told, and they had no choice but to leave her alone. They had been her friends for a while, she had helped them immensely on more than one occasion, proved she was loyal to the gang until she wanted out. She deserved nothing more than to be able to get away from them when she wanted.

She and Chase had made that deal and she knew he would stick with it.

But Summer and Skye…they were total enigmas.

"Ah, Miss. Mitchell, I'm glad to see you made it," Lt. Stone said with a knowing smile as he walked up to the group. Avalon gave him a knowing smile in return. So far he had kept his promise of not telling anyone she was a ranger; hopefully it would stay that way. "How have Bulk and Skull been at the school?"

"Same ol', same ol'," Jason replied. "They seem to cause havoc everywhere they go."

Avalon elbowed him in the side with her good arm. Jason jumped and brought his hand up to soothe the spot, casting her an annoyed glance. Avalon smirked back at him—finally s _omething_ annoyed him—then turned back to the lieutenant. "They've been fine," she said. "Though I think they're taking the idea of being bodyguards a little bit _too_ far. Could you tell them to _not_ stand outside the bathroom and wait for me?" She tilted her head to the side. "And as much as I like them around, can't they patrol the school and not just focus their attention on _me?"_

"I'm sorry, Miss. Mitchell, but until we get the sense that you really are safe in school, Bulk and Skull are going to be acting as your body guards." He cleared his throat and tried not to smile. "Besides, you were the one that asked them to patrol the school."

"Yeah, patrol the _school_ ," Avalon agreed. "Not follow me like an extra shadow."

Caine laughed.

"Like I said," Jason chimed in. "They cause havoc everywhere."

"Don't I know it," Lt. Stone agreed. "They've done nothing but test my patience since they've been here but they insist that this is what they really want." He cleared his throat once more. "It is against the honor code to turn them away because of personal thoughts rather than them not being cut out for the job. So until they give the academy a reason not to accept them, there's nothing I can do." He gritted his teeth. "Unfortunately," he added under his breath.

"Lt. Stone, what was the reason that we were brought here today?" Caine reminded him.

"Yes. Of course." Lt. Stone regained his composure and motioned to Avalon. "Miss. Mitchell, Chase Blackburn has been asking to speak with you before he's taken to the prison while he waits for his sentencing."

Caine stood up. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said firmly. "Who knows what sort of danger she's in just by being here?" He set his jaw, appearing as imposing as ever. "I wish you would've told us this over the phone so that we could come up with a compromise or something. But having him meet with her is out of the question."

"Sir, Blackburn insists that all he wants at the moment is to talk to Miss. Mitchell, in private, to clear things up. Otherwise, he's ready to be taken straight to prison."

"So take him," Jason insisted, taking a step forward and moving in front of the orange ranger. "Avie doesn't owe him anything."

 _Well, I need to give him his stuff back,_ Avalon thought. _And maybe…I can convince him to get Skye and Summer off my back._ Avalon placed her hand on Jason's forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze before moving to his side. "I'll talk to him," she said firmly. "If there's something he wants to say, it must be important, yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I still don't think it's—"

"In many ways I owe him my life," Avalon interrupted Caine. "Just like he owes me his. He gave me a place to go and has, in his own way, protected me on more than one occasion." She looked at her feet for a moment then with renewed confidence, looked at Lt. Stone once more. "I'll talk to him for a few minutes, mate."

"Then at least let me go with her," Caine insisted.

"No. He wants to see her in private and if Miss. Mitchell thinks its OK then we have to trust her decision. I'll be with them the entire time so she will be safe." Lt. Stone waited for Caine to acknowledge his words before reaching out and motioning for Avalon to follow him.

Jason grabbed onto her hand for a moment, then let go, allowing Avalon to follow Lt. Stone down the hallway and to an interrogation room. She slowly stepped inside the room as the lieutenant opened the door and she found Chase sitting in a chair, feet shackled together and arms cuffed in front of him. He looked up at the sound of the door opened and locked his gray eyes on her as she entered the room and sat down across from him.

"Long time no see," he said to her, voice gruff.

Avalon looked at him for a long moment, taking in his black eye and tousled hair. He had been roughed up a bit while in jail. More than likely from a rival gang member that was in jail as well. One look at the large 'V' tattooed on his neck and everyone knew he was part of the Vipers.

"As charming as ever," Avalon drawled in reply. She flicked her hair out of her face. "What did you want to talk about?" She got straight to the point. Chase looked taken aback for a moment then his face cleared and he flicked is head, moving his hair from his face.

"I wanted to let you know that I don't blame you for anything that happened," Chase said to her. He leaned towards her, licking his lips. "What happened with the Vipers…how everything started to fall apart? I don't blame you. I saw…for ages that you wanted to leave, but I did my best to make you stay. My insecurities made me lose my grasp…the times I hit you…you didn't deserve it."

Avalon made a humming sound under her breath. She had heard that so many times before. The few times he had actually been so nice and caring towards her, when they were dating he said things like that. And she believed he did mean it. She had seen the look in his face, the clarity in his eyes when he did so. She was the only one that had seen the real Chase when the moments came, few and far between the deadly anger that resided inside him.

"I should've let you leave when you wanted…then none of this would've happened."

Avalon snorted. "Do you really believe that?" Chase smirked in reply. The two knew she was talking about Summer's crazy jealousy. She had always been jealous of attention that was on any other girl other than her. If the Vipers ever went to a fast food place for something to eat, she would berate the girl behind the counter that took their order because she had Chase's attention for even a second. No matter whether or not Avalon had dated Chase, the same thing would've happened at some point. Any girl that came around her and she showed her completely psychotic side.

Summer had always been a bit crazy, something in her life had turned her that way and it was hard for her to shake. She was prime real estate for gang life and had welcomed it with open arms. It was now all she knew and all she lived for.

"If I hadn't jumped you in…" Chase trailed off and shook his head. "That doesn't matter now."

Avalon's eyes narrowed for a moment. "I want to give you guys your stuff back."

"Don't!" The sudden fury that flashed through Chase's eyes caused Avalon to sit back in her chair, anything to get of his space. Even Lt. Stone recognized the possible danger and brought his hand up to the butt of his gun. "Don't be stupid, Pinky. Just…get rid of it, but don't give it back."

"You're my friends—"

"No one in a gang is friends," Chase said under his breath. "We treat each other like family but whenever we get the chance, we'll backstab and betray to make sure we're not the ones that are caught." His voice lowered even further. "You know that better than I do."

Avalon swallowed thickly and nodded. She had quickly fallen into that mindset when she was part of the Vipers and there were times where she still felt that way. When she started with the rangers, that's how she fought at first. She fought monsters herself to keep those thoughts at bay and even Jason had called her out on it a few times, saying her actions were just going to get the other rangers hurt.

 _Maybe that's what I wanted._ As soon as the thought entered her head, Avalon scowled a deep, dark scowl. _No!_ That wasn't her anymore. That wasn't how she was. She changed; she wasn't a Viper anymore, no matter how hard people around her wanted her to be.

"What about Skye and Summer?" She asked him. "They haven't' been found…"

"You don't have to worry about them," Chase said mysteriously. "They've already been taken care of." The two were silent for a long time. Avalon continued to watch him, his eyes darting around the room, always coming back to her. When he spoke next, he lowered his voice enough so that Avalon had to strain to hear him. "Don't bring the stuff back, get rid of it any way you can. My reach of the Vipers goes out pretty far; even while in jail…you're not going to be bothered anymore. I'll make sure of it."

Avalon nodded back. "Thanks."

_Chase glanced at her. "I need to be sure we have what's ours," he explained. "I need time while I try to come up with some other people to join us." He continued to look at her and as the seconds passed it morphed into a leer. "Your sister wouldn't be—"_

_"We made a deal!" Avalon's hands clenched into fists. "I'd do what you want, you'd leave my sister alone, and you get rid of me when you don't need me anymore."_

_With those words Chase swiftly brought his hand from his pocket and aimed a pistol at her. If he moved it a fraction to the left, he would hit her right in the heart. And while he wasn't in a completely sane mindset, she could tell as his eyes were unfocused—he had probably gotten high before she arrived—he was a good marksman._

_"So what's stopping me from taking you out now?"_

_Avalon paused. "What stopped you before?"_

_She knew the answer to that question, she had always been aware of it. It wasn't just the loyalty she had shown for the gang that had him trust her. But she was the only one of his other members he trusted the most. It could have been in a sort of Stockholm syndrome sort of way, as they were the only ones she had to lean on when she and Bailey had been on the streets of Angel Grove. The others had gone right to him; he had found her and recruited her. Or maybe it was the time they had dated where he had shown a different part to her that no one else had seen._

_"Good point." Chase put the gun back into his pocket and took a long drag of it. "Gooood point." He pointed at her. "If you leave—"_

_"—when I leave—"_

_"—if you leave, I want my gun back," he said._

_"You can have it," Avalon insisted. "And every other weapon you've ever given me. At this point I don't see why I'm still the one that has to hold onto all of your guys' crap." She walked over and sat down on the railing next to him. Straddling it, she looked over the twinkling lights of Angel Grove. She wondered what her sister was doing at that moment. Hopefully doing something she enjoyed._

_"Because you're a fringe," Chase murmured._

_That word bothered her more now than ever before. This time, however, it wasn't because she was tired of being thought of someone that was going to leave them high and dry. It was because she knew that's what she was._

_A fringe, a gang member that hasn't made a commitment to the criminal life._

_"And because out of everyone here, you're the one that hasn't kissed my ass all the time," Chase continued._

_"I thought you liked that?" Avalon pointed out. She swung her body back over the side and leaned forward, hunching over herself. She angled her head down, covering her face with her hair as she looked at her power morpher. A smile immediately graced her lips. She was glad Chase couldn't see or else he would start to question her. "Summer seems to think so."_

_"Summer is good for more than kissing ass," Chase responded. Avalon rolled her eyes. "All of you guys are. That's the point. We're all a family in a way. A fucking dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless." He glanced at her, noticing the way she was hunched over. "Are you cold?" He moved to take off his leather jacket._

_"I'm fine."_

_"You sure?"_

_"Yeah. Are you OK?"_

_"Physically? Sure. Mentally, I don't know anymore." Chase snickered. "There's only so long you can self medicate until you actually start to realize that things aren't really OK, right?" He took another long drag of his cigarette, blowing out the large, billowy cloud, watching it dissipate. "Thanks for caring."_

_The softness of his tone threw her off for a second. She hadn't seen that side of him in a long time. It was nice to see. "You're welcome, Chase." In a weird way, she meant it._

"Thanks," she said again. _For everything._ But she didn't add that. She couldn't. It would be too weird for the two of them. No matter how much time they had spent together, no matter how much of her life she had put into his hands…it was still his fault she had seen all of that fear and torment and had fallen into the darkness as she had.

"You're welcome, Avalon," Chase replied. It was the first time he had said her name with something other than malice. He had said it the same way she had those months ago. She knew he was telling the truth. He didn't want any of his stuff back; he didn't want the weapons or the drugs. He wanted her to know that she was free from the Vipers and that he was the one that was personally letting her go.

Lt. Stone took a step forward and walked towards her. "Time's up," he said. He pulled back Avalon's chair and allowed the orange ranger to stand up. She followed him out of the room, glancing at Chase over her shoulder as she went. He gave a hint of a smile before she left the room and went back to the waiting area of the police station.

Caine and Jason both stood up as Avalon walked back over to them. "Is everything OK?" Jason asked her.

"Yeah." Avalon nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Everything's fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" Avalon rolled her eyes. "Worry anymore and I'm sure your body is going to be riddled with warts and blow up your already nonexistent masculinity." She tilted her head to the side, smiling in triumph. "Gotcha."

"Yeah, yeah." Jason regarded her with a warm smile. "I'm glad everything's working out."

 _More than you think._ Avalon smiled back. "Me too."

Caine cleared his throat, causing the two teenagers to look over at him and he raised an eyebrow at them. "If that was all they needed you for, we should get going back. It's late and you two still have to go to school."

Jason rolled his eyes, whether from embarrassment or joking Avalon didn't know. "Wow, way to be a parent, Dad."

"Someone's got to show you what a man looks like," Avalon piped up. Caine laughed loudly as the three headed towards the exit.

"Oh, so you got jokes huh?" Jason shot back.

"Plenty more where that came from, mate."

"I'm afraid to ask."

They rangers got into the Scotts' car and Caine drove them back to the Cranston house. When the pulled up, Avalon let out a quiet sigh when she spotted Billy and Bailey sitting on the front porch swing, gently moving back and forth. Bailey was reading a book and Billy had his arms crossed over his chest, looking out on the street. "They worry too much about me," she murmured. She had said it so many times since she admitted what was going on after having been sent to the hospital during the homecoming dance.

"I don't blame them," Jason replied, having followed their gaze. But there wasn't a sense of teasing or joking in his tone rather than quiet sincerity.

Avalon hummed and climbed out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Scott," She said to him. "And thanks for helping me out." She closed the door behind her and waved to Jason before walking up the front porch towards the blue and purple rangers. "So what excuse do you have for still being up?" She asked her sister.

"Billy let me," Bailey replied, pointing over at him with her book. "And so did David and Lacey."

"Yeah, well, it's getting late." Avalon tilted her head towards the house and Bailey obliged as she slid off the swing, closing her book as she did so. Avalon ruffled her little sister's hair as she passed before walking around Billy's legs and sitting on the porch swing next to him. "Hey."

"Hey," Billy replied, turning to her. "How'd things go?"

"Good." Avalon nodded. "Chase wanted to talk to me."

Billy's eyebrows rose. "And did you?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

Avalon thought for a moment before rolling her head towards him. She briefly closed her eyes before shrugging. "It went the way I expected it to," she replied. "Kind of weird, but helpful." She reached out and poked him on the cheek. "I told you that you don't have to wait up for me anymore."

"I wasn't," Billy denied. "I was just thinking about..."

"About what?"

"Trini…and how she's leaving and how it's going to affect the rangers," Billy said. He let out a deep breath. "It couldn't have come at a worse time, really. What with Sagittaria and all of the monsters that Rita and Zedd are sending out and the Azurite Healiodore and how we don't know what's going on with that." He let an angry breath out through his nose. Avalon's eyebrows furrowed, she had never seen him even remotely angry before.

She thought about how they had gone to the beach that one time, how he had faced his fear of water by using his powers to create that bubble that would allow them to sit at the bottom of the ocean or whatever body of water they wanted and talk or just watch the marine life pass them by. He had been so quick to face his fears then, so eager to allow himself to step out of his comfort zone. Then he had done the same when he asked Trini out in the first place—after a bit of prodding from Avalon. He had stepped out of his comfort zone then and things turned out well.

Now it was backfiring in his face.

She was leaving them, leaving _him_ and he was doing his best not to think about it.

She reached out and gently ran her fingers through his hair, at the base of his skull. It was a movement she did to calm down Bailey when she was younger, instantly allowing her to relax. It worked for Billy too, he tilted his head down and rested it on Avalon's shoulder. She moved her head over and gently placed hers on top of his, still moving her fingers through his hair. They stayed that way for a few long moments until Avalon finally spoke up again.

"Billy? Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Billy said after a moment. He got up and started up the steps, into the house. "I'm fine."


	26. When It All Falls Apart

**Chapter 26**

_When It All Falls Apart_

* * *

 

"Now that those puny power punks have lost Zack, there's nothing that can stop us from our psychological warfare on them!"

Zedd gave a cry full of mirth and thrust his Z-staff into the air. Around him, Goldar, Squatt, and Babboo all cheered. Rita, on the other hand, continued to sit in her chair at the head of the table and continued to sip out of her wine goblet.

Surprise, surprise one of the few times they were able to have dinner to themselves in the lunar palace and Zedd had to go and ruin it with his exclamation that _he_ was finally going to be the one to destroy the power rangers. It was _her_ idea for Goldar to get the Azurite Healiodore and destroy Zordon's and Alpha's home plants. She had that idea while she had been stuck in the space dupster for all of those years. She had to do _something_ to keep herself entertained while she waited to be released. And it was just her luck that those fools from NASADA were exploring the distance planet she just so happened to crash land on.

All of those years in the space dumpster and she had come up with countless plans, of course they all had to be modified when the rangers continued to destroy her monsters. She had anticipated it; Zordon would try to fight back wherever she landed as he was the 'wise sage' that fought on the side of goodness against her.

Her hands clenched against her goblet as, at the head of the table, she watched Zedd continued to preen in his celebration, running his fingers down the neck of the alien-like girls that had slowly made their way into the room. His harem. She had no problem with at first, focusing on the destruction of all that was kind and good and the power rangers. But he insisted on it and while it loosened him up, keeping himself from completely breaking psychotically, it was starting to get on her nerves the longer it went on.

Rita's long fingernails tapped against her goblet, creating light cracking sounds, threatening to break her goblet. She replaced the goblet on the table in front of her and picked up her fork to finish her meal. Why was he the one that always had to—

Wait.

"What did you say?!" She screeched at Zedd.

He slowly turned to face his wife, his demeanor changing completely. Now his body glowed with anger. Probably from having interrupted him in his crowning moment of achievement. "I _said,_ now that Zack is out of the picture, we can start our full scale psychologically warfare on the rangers."

"What do you mean he's out of the picture?" Rita pressed.

Zedd let out what sounded like an annoyed sigh, dropping his hand to the table with a dull 'thunk'. He picked it up and started to drum his fingers against his cheek, each finger making a metallic clanking sound against the side of his face. "And I thought you were smart enough to comprehend simple English," he said. He cleared his throat. "Zack broke one of Zordon's rules and now he's not a ranger anymore. His powers have just been taken. And now that he's gone from the team, the rangers will be one ranger short. And the rest of our monsters will be able to take them out one by one."

"All we have to do is send out Sagittaria once more," Goldar agreed. "And we'll have the rangers finally defeated!" He waved his sword over his head, cheering loudly.

"Wouldn't _you_ rather take the reins on that one?" Zedd asked him. "You'd finally be able to destroy the red ranger like you've always wanted."

"And _you'd_ finally get that pink ranger that you're always obsessing about," Rita snapped back, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Honestly, it's like you haven't seen a real woman before." Zedd pushed back his seat and walked over to his wife, kneeling by her side.

"You know the only woman in my life is the one that I can have rule the galaxy at my side," he rumbled, grasping her hands between both of his. "Taking out the pink ranger would mean that we could have the white ranger back in our midst and turn him evil once more!"

"Or the purple one," Rita reminded him. "You know that the power of the Ankylosaurus is the one that had been created by some of the darker forces of the universe. It's the only power coin that can be turned good or evil depending on whose hands it falls into." She shook her head. "Unlike the magic spell I put on the green ranger Power Coin and even that didn't hold out for too long."

"Maybe I should try," Zedd suggested, still holding her hands.

"No…we need a different approach. Turning the rangers evil doesn't always work. They always break each other out of the spell before we even get a chance to blink. Right now, we need to focus on Eltar and Edenoi. The destruction of those planets is going slower than we anticipated, the air isn't toxic enough. We need to continue distracting the rangers with our monsters, the stronger they are the harder it'll be for them to fight back."

Zedd made a sound of agreement as he stood up and leaned in, giving his wife a kiss. Rita returned the kiss and turned back to the food on her plate. She poked at it a few times before resting her hand in her cheek. It was the closest they had ever been to taking over the Earth and now it was only a matter of time until they accomplished their goal.

"Sagittaria has been giving them a run for their money," Zedd continued. "He's strong, but is getting weaker each time the rangers fight him. It won't be long until he's defeated." He turned to Finster who sat at his own side table, eating quietly. Rita's faithful henchman didn't' do anything unless he was instructed to. Zedd was a little annoyed by him, he couldn't get that little…thing to do anything he said unless Rita told him to do it first. Goldar, Squatt, and Babboo were easier to manipulate, they followed whoever was leading the lunar palace at the time.

Rita must've noticed his gaze that was directed toward her henchman for she turned to address the monster maker herself. "Finster! Which monster do you think we should send out next while we wait for Sagittaria?"

"Oh!" Seeming not to notice the hard stares Goldar, Squatt, and Babboo sent his way; Finster leaned back and painstakingly wiped his mouth off with a napkin as he thought. "Well, considering the early monsters we have were a bit weaker, we have been training the others to withstand the attacks that the rangers could send their way."

Zedd let out a long, low, warning growl.

Finster, hearing the growl, jumped and started to speak faster. "So with the options we have left, I believe that Scorpina will be the best one to go with," he continued. "She's pretty and powerful and has a greater sting than any of the monsters we've ever used before."

"Scorpina, huh?" Zedd rubbed his chin, looking over at Rita. "What do you think, my dear?"

Rita thought about it for a long moment. _Scorpina could work. It'll take a bit to make sure she listens to what we have to say…that she won't turn back, but she could work. I like it! _Seizing her goblet once more, being careful not to crack it even further, she held it up, toasting herself and her husband.

"I think this may be the monster that finally takes out the rangers."

* * *

 

Zack sat in the Command Center as he waited for Zordon and Alpha to grab the rangers and pull them to the rangers' headquarters as well. He tried to focus on his homework, but that wasn't working to keep his mind off things. He could've told the rangers himself, that he wasn't going to be a power ranger anymore, but he couldn't do it. He had even tried to tell Jason, numerous times, but he always chickened out in the end. And Jason, as generous and caring as ever, had reminded the black ranger that if there was anything he wanted to talk about, he could talk to him.

How could he talk to the guy that had lost his position of being the leader that he had let him down? Jason had been the one that convinced the rangers to try out the powers they had been given in the first place while Zack had been the first to disclaim everything Zordon had been saying.

Now he was the one to have it forcibly taken from him.

It was kind of ironic.

Thankfully, Rita and Zedd hadn't caused any mischief amongst Earth so he was able to deal with it a little bit on his own. To think about how things had changed.

Football practices weren't going well. He had gotten sacked so many times and was surprised with how much his body hurt the next day. It didn't used to hurt that bad, the addition of The Power must make it so that they were able to withstand more pain and wear and tear on the body than most people could. Even sparring with Jason hurt more than usual. He was all in his head and Jason defeated him quicker than usual. Before he could question Zack about it, he had turned and started o spar with Tommy, the battle going on as long as they usually did, ending in a tie.

Instead, Zack had gone over to sit with Billy, Avalon, Trini, Fred, and Bailey as they sat at a nearby table, watching Kimberly on the balance beam.

"She's getting really good," Trini said, clasping her hands together. Billy hadn't replied, he kept his nose buried in his advanced math class homework, only making a grunting sound in agreement. Zack had looked over at him and frowned, sensing some sort of tension there.

He understood, Trini leaving had surprised the rangers and since she announced it, it was like they were all pretending it wasn't happening. No one said anything about it; she hadn't said when she was leaving, when her last day at school was, if she wanted them to go to her house to say goodbye…nothing.

"She makes it look so easy, too," Avalon commented, holding a newspaper up in her left hand. She had lowered it when she watched Kimberly do a somersault and stand up on her feet before launching herself in a front flip, all on a beam that was only a few inches wide. "If I tried, I'd probably crack my head open."

"The bandage would go pretty nicely with the one on your arm, Av," Fred pointed out with a smile, casing Bailey to laugh.

"I like accessories but not when it comes to _those_ kind of accessories," Avalon replied. She lifted the newspaper back to her face for a moment before putting it down once more, circling something with a black pen.

Zack laughed, stretching his legs out in front of him. "What are you doing, Av? Still looking for a job?"

"Yeah," She replied. "I have to make some money somehow."

Zack winced. She had come a long way from having robbed houses and people and took what they had to pawn shops. Why couldn't he have done the same thing? Stay away from what Skye wanted? Though he hadn't heard anything from him or Summer he constantly looked over his shoulder. They were the ones that had cost him his powers and they still had the ability to come back and do something worse to him.

"Good luck with that, Sis," Bailey said. Her head was lowered over a book, doing her homework for that night. She blew her bangs out of her face and focused her eyes on her older sister. "I don't think many people want to hire someone with the use of only one arm."

"And I don't think people want a little sister that sticks her nose in everyone's business," Avalon shot back. "But look who _I_ got stuck with."

Bailey stuck her tongue out at her sister.

"Well, you hang out here all the time, Av, why don't you just work here?" Fred suggested, waving an arm around the Youth Center. "I'm sure Ernie would be glad to have you as a waitress or to work behind the bar and with the register or something." He pulled his hat off his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"That'd work if it weren't for the actuality that when she's in the vicinity of handling numerous tasks she doesn't give the impression to have the ability of equilibrium," Billy said. There was a brief moment of silence around the table as he continued to do his homework.

After a few beats, Trini spoke up. "He's saying she's clumsy."

"Oh."

Avalon scowled, rolled up her newspaper, and slapped Billy on the arm with it. "I'm _not_ clumsy!" Her voice got high-pitched as she said the words. Billy gave a small smile as he shook his head. "I'm _not_!"

"Av, you dropped an entire tray of milkshakes on the ground the last time you were working here," Trini reminded her. "Remember? All over Tommy's and Jason's shoes." Avalon continued to sink in her seat as the yellow ranger told the story to Fred.

"Oh come on, Av, it's not that bad," Bailey reassured her sister. She turned to Fred, rolling her eyes. "My sister can't take criticism," she said to him. "It really gets on her nerves." She made the cuckoo sign by the side of her head, causing her older sister's scowl to deepen even further.

"Got it," Fred agreed. Something caught his eye and he grabbed onto Bailey's wrist. Trini and Zack exchanged wide-eyed looks when they realized he had noticed the purple rangers's communicator. "Hey. What's this?"

"Uh…" Bailey stalled. She tried to pull her hand away, but Fred was studying the communicator intensely. "It's a…uh…"

"It's a watch," Zack broke in. "Fred, my man, you haven't see a watch like this before have you?" He broke in. Billy gave the black ranger an odd look, kicking him under the table. Zack kicked him back, holding up a hand to silently reassure him that he knew what he was doing.

"No."

"Yeah, it's a new kind of watch," Zack continued. "Hasn't even really come out in stores yet."

"I'll say," Fred said. He snorted as he looked over the front. "It doesn't tell time on it at all."

"It's a prototype," Billy said quickly. "It's supposed to…uh…" He rapidly tapped his pen against his notebook. "It's supposed to project a hologram of the time."

"Oh, with this button?" Before any of the rangers could stop him, Fred poked the button on the left side of the communicator. Trini, Billy, Avalon, Zack, and Bailey all let out sighs of relief when it revealed he had just pushed the button to communicator to Zordon rather than teleport Bailey out to the Command Center. When he saw that it didn't do anything he turned to the one that would teleport her. "What about this—"

"Oh, I guess it doesn't work!" Bailey finally pulled her hand away from Fred's and slipped off her communicator. "That's what happens when you get a prototype for something." She gave a nervous laugh and shoved her communicator into her bag. "I'm sure I can fix it later."

"Sooth," Zack said and laughed again. It was the first time he had laughed in a while. Though the conversation didn't allow for a laugh, considering their secret had almost been revealed to someone else, he couldn't help but find the humor in it. A bit of morbid humor, he guessed, considering he would never have that problem again. _Did they even notice I'm not wearing my communicator anymore?_

Kimberly, Jason, and Tommy had finished their practice for the day and the group had hung out for a while before they had all gone their separate ways. Zack had gone home to get started on homework, but couldn't stake the stress. He couldn't keep the guilt away and teleported to the Command Center and asked Zordon and Alpha to bring the others there as well, so they could be told the news. It was only a matter of time until they found out for themselves, when Rita and Zedd sent out another wave of monsters.

"Zachary, it would be in your best interest to tell them yourself," Zordon pointed out.

Zack had shaken his head. "How can I tell them when I'm…too ashamed?" His voice was quiet and dull unlike the normal cheerfulness he managed to project into every aspect of his life. "How can I tell them that I let them down? That I'm leaving the team with one less ranger when all of these monsters are coming in stronger than ever. And with Goldar…"

"I know it's hard, Zack." Alpha walked over and placed his hand on the teenager's shoulder. "But it's something they really deserve to know."

"Can you guys do it, please?" Zack turned his gaze to the ground. "I can't…I don't…think I can say it…"

Zordon was silent for a long moment then nodded. "As you wish, I'll summon them now."

And now here was Zack, waiting for his friends to come in so the news could be broken, that the black and yellow rangers were leaving and they would be weaker than ever. He rubbed his hands together then turned, recognizing the sound of teleportation as the rangers appeared in the Command Center. This time, however, Aisha and Adam were with them as well.

"Wow, talk about a head rush!" Aisha said excitedly, grabbing onto Adam's arm. "Can you believe we're here again? It must be something serious."

"Mhm." Adam looked around the Command Center as if it were the first time he was seeing it. The rangers, on the other hand, checked out the silent viewing globe before turning back to their mentor.

"So what's up?" Avalon asked. "There doesn't seem to be any monster attack."

"Rangers, unfortunately we have some news that we have to bring to you," Zordon said firmly. "Zack, Trini, as inopportune as it is, we are aware that you will not be able to regain your abilities as a power ranger in the foreseeable future."

"What?" Kimberly asked. She scratched the back of her neck, looking back and forth between the yellow and black rangers. "Wait a minute; I thought you said that even if a power ranger's power is copied they can still use their powers."

"Yeah, aren't Adam and Aisha supposed to come in when needed?" Tommy agreed.

Trini bowed her head. "I understand, Zordon," she said to him before turning to face her friends. "It will be very…difficult to say the least, to keep being a ranger when I'm going to be all the way around the world." She reached out and gripped onto her power morpher. "If I'm going to be around my family…it'll be hard to get away when needed. I may not be able to help you when you want." She turned to the shorter African-American girl, who looked up at her in wonder. "I'm honored that you shall be taking my place."

"OK, but what does that mean for Zack?" Jason placed his hands on his hips. "He's still going to be here, he's not going anyway."

"Due to some circumstances that we haven't come across in years…" Alpha started quietly. He let out a slight whimpering sound and turned to the blank ranger; whose gaze was still on the floor. "We…had to take Zack's powers away."

"What?!" Avalon and Bailey cried in unison.

Billy finally spoke up. "What would constitute his powers having been taken away?" He asked. "Those that found out about our identities are ones that are helping us now." He motioned to Adam and Aisha, who listened quietly. "Rocky, Adam, and Aisha are backups, as you've said. Bailey has taken on the power of the Ankylosaurus…there's no one else that knows our secret."

"And even though we don't have the greatest track record of that, as of late, it's not like anything bad has come from it, yeah?" Avalon agreed. She didn't think it was the right time to mention that Lt. Stone knew about her being a power ranger. If anything, Zordon had watched the whole thing and already knew. It was different when a man in law enforcement, who clearly wanted nothing but safety for those in Angel Grove, could keep a secret. If there was anyone else, little kids, anyone their age…the chances of the secret being leaked would be far greater.

Alpha lowered his head, gently shaking it. He ran his hands over each other and then brought them up to his chrome dome. If he had been able to cry, his circuits would've gone out of whack at that moment. He had never felt such intense sadness for anything before, confirming his older beliefs that he had managed to adapt emotions from being around the teenagers for so long.

"The three rules that Zordon gave you from the very beginning…you can't use your powers for personal gain, you secret identities have to remain a secret, and…you can't escalate a fight unless Rita forces you to," Alpha said.

Aisha let out a sigh of disappointment. "I guess my ninja training will have to rely on what I already know." She crossed her arms over her chest as she shook her head. "It would've been kinda cool to see everyone's reactions if I—"

"No," Tommy said firmly. "The point of being a ranger is that we're helping the city of Angel Grove without getting the glory for ourselves." He placed a hand on his chest. "We're doing it because we have a responsibility and because we feel it's right."

"Hey." Adam moved slightly in front of Aisha, defending her friend. "She didn't mean anything by it…haven't you ever thought that you had an advantage in a martial arts tournament because of your new powers?" He asked him.

Tommy faltered for a second. He was sure there was a moment when he was the evil green ranger that his fighting style had been changed to become more ruthless, because of his new abilities. Even on a bad day he and Jason's fights would result in a stalemate, but when having entered that tournament…it was different.

He nodded at the two replacement rangers then turned back to Alpha.

"But if the secret identity thing isn't a problem and we haven't used our powers for personal gain…" Kimberly turned to Zack, her eyebrows rising. "No way…Zack…you didn't…escalate a fight did you?"

Jason looked at him warily.

Avalon and Bailey exchanged a glance.

Tommy's eyes widened.

Billy pressed his lips firmly together.

"It was an accident," he finally said. "I didn't mean for any of it to happen." There was a startled gasp that went around the room. "I don't have the Power to protect me anymore, guys. I'm…I'm not a ranger anymore."

"No!" Trini cried. She grabbed onto her friend's arm. "Zack, please tell me this isn't the truth."

"You didn't," Jason insisted. His hands were clenched into fists, his mouth pressed into a firm line. His voice held a lot of power; however it was as quiet as ever. "You couldn't ever do something like that. I know you."

"I did," Zack insisted.

"What happened?"

The black ranger's eyes shifted back and forth for a few moments. He chewed his lower lip and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't say…but it is true." He lifted up his wrist to show he wasn't wearing a communicator anymore. "Alpha and Zordon took my power morpher." He motioned to Adam. "And I believe it got copied to him."

"What?" Adam pulled out his morpher and looked it over. He studied the front then turned to the now ex-ranger. "I wanted to help; I agreed to keep your secret." He shook his head, hand tightening over his morpher. "But I didn't want it to happen this way."

"Hey!" Zack put on a friendly smile and walked over to his replacement, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I couldn't have gotten a better replacement." He was lying through his teeth. He didn't know the boy from any other teenager, having basically secluded himself to the rangers for so long. It was dangerous to become friends with anyone else, dangerous to try and date anyone else, knowing how much danger they would be put in, how easily they could be targeted for Rita's and Zedd's own gain. "You're going to do a fine job being the new black ranger. The Power wouldn't have chosen you, otherwise."

"Thank you," Adam said. He turned away, chewing his lower lip.

"No," Kimberly whimpered, bringing her hands up to her face. She had started to cry. "I can't believe this. First Trini then Zack."

"This isn't happening," Avalon added. She turned to Zack. "Please tell me this is some sort of sick joke." She waited a beat and when he didn't respond, her voice cracked as she tried again. " _Please_!" Bailey jumped, hearing so much emotion in her sister's voice.

"T-There has to be s-some kind of mistake," Billy added. He whirled to face the mentor and robot. "There has to be something in The Power that can…" he trailed off as Alpha shook his head. He turned away, bringing a hand up to his mouth before running it through his hair. Kimberly and Bailey openly started to cry.

"No," Bailey whimpered. "No." She wiped at her eyes. "What are we going to do about Rita and Zedd?" She sniffed loudly. "It's going to take a while…to train these two to be ready, yeah?"

"We'll come to that when the time comes," Zordon said. As stoic as he was, there was a hint of sadness in his voice. "As I said, I'm sorry it's had to come to this. But time must go on." He then addressed Adam and Aisha. "It is now time for you two to take on the responsibility of being rangers. When the time comes you will fight many hard battles and make many hard decisions, but it's for the good of the Earth, let alone Angel Grove."

"We understand, Zordon," Adam said.

"You can count on us," Aisha agreed.

The two teleported out of the Command Center with their colors of light. "Aw man," Tommy murmured, but didn't say anything otherwise. He was too busy consoling his girlfriend, who continued to cry loudly, before she went over o the black ranger and threw her arms around him.

Zack tried to laugh, but it failed. "Hey, Kim, don't worry about me. I'll still help you guys when you need it." He smirked a little. "And let's face it; you're going to need it."

Tommy chuckled and walked over to him, holding out a hand. Zack grasped it and the two came forward in a hug, slapping each other on the back. "I'm going to miss you, man."

"Yeah…"

The white and pink rangers then went over to Trini and gave her a hug too. Kimberly held onto her best friend tightly then stood on her tip-toes, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "If you don't write to me every day I'm going to hate you for the rest of your life," Kimberly said to her, before hugging her again.

Trini nodded. "Take care of her for me, Tommy, please?" She asked the white ranger, giving him a hug too.

"I will, I promise."

Billy, Bailey, and Avalon walked over and gave the black and yellow rangers their parting hugs as well, promising they'd still be around to help and to keep in touch. Zack and Trini laughed a little as they gave them hugs too, trying to hold back their tearing up. Billy turned to the red ranger, who hadn't moved from his spot.

"Well?" He asked him.

Jason looked at the blue ranger in surprise. "Well what?"

"Aren't you going to say anything? Tell them goodbye?" Billy waited for Jason to respond. The red ranger made a feeble gesture but otherwise didn't say anything. "I don't believe this!"

Sensing Billy's anger, Zak was quick to jump in. "Hey, don't worry about it, man," he said to his former leader. "I know that emotions aren't your thing and—"

"It's not something you should be defending him for," Billy snapped. He turned back to Jason, hands clenched into fists. "The only time I see you get upset or even really angry is when Rita and Zedd are sending down their monsters. You show your emotions then…but you can't even do it when two of your best friends…your _best_ friend is leaving us!"

"Don't do that, man," Jason shot back, frowning. "I'm not some kind of robot! I _do_ care that they're leaving! Not only is our team breaking apart, but…so is our whole group."

"Then act like it!"

"Guys," Tommy started. "Don't do this."

"I shouldn't have to act like anything." Jason's frown deepened. "Not anything you want me to be, or how anyone else wants me to be." He took a step back. "You don't get to tell me how I feel!"

"Enough! Both of you!" Avalon snapped, glaring back and forth between the two of them. "Stop acting like a bunch of boofheads!" She crossed her left arm and gently held onto her right, as if hugging herself. "That's not what's important right now!"

"She's right," Kimberly agreed. "We should be trying to spend as much time together as we can before Trini leaves." She turned to Billy and turned her brown eyes up to him, silently pleading with him. "Why are you acting like this? I've never seen you this upset before! Jase is one of your best friends and you're treating him like he's…Bulk and Skull or something!"

Billy didn't respond.

"Billy." Trini reached out to grab onto his arm and he allowed her hand to lay there for a moment, before he backed away from her. From all of the other rangers. "I know you're upset with what's going on…that I didn't tell you I was leaving—"

"Forget it, Trini," Billy said to her. "Just forget it." He brought up his communicator and teleported from the Command Center.

"Hey guys," Tommy said. "Maybe we should take a bit of a break and…try to calm down a bit?" Tommy suggested. "Things are getting a little heated right now."

"Maybe you're right," Bailey agreed.

Jason teleported from the Command Center and after that the other rangers teleported as well. Zack sighed, being the last one to leave. He didn't expect things to end up like this when he told them what was going on. He thought it would go a lot better than that, actually. That they'd understand that he lost his powers, they'd say they would miss him, and then all of them would go to the youth center or his house or something and they'd reminisce all of the good times they had and leave on a happy, yet bittersweet note.

He didn't expect Billy, the one that usually kept his grievances to himself, to start yelling at Jason or Jason to sit there and take it. He didn't expect them all to leave so angry at each other. Well, if there was anyone that knew how to put a smile on people's faces, it was Zack.

He just had to be sure he could put a smile on his own face first.

* * *

 

Zack teleported from the Command Center and landed at the crosswalk that connected his, Jason's, and Billy's neighborhoods together. How ironic was it that his was the one in between the two. On one hand he could understand why Billy was finally expressing his thoughts on the other he felt he had to defend his best friend.

For the moment, as he walked home, he came to the conclusion that keeping some things to himself was better than exacerbating them even further.

A couple of hours later, Zack was called from his room with a visitor at the front door. He went down to the porch and opened the door, surprised to find Avalon there. He had expected Jason, but on the other hand knew that the guy liked his privacy a little bit more than others. "Hey Kid," he greeted her. He chuckled when he saw her shivering slightly underneath Billy's letterman jacket. "A little cold?"

"I'm still getting used to the fact that it does actually get cold around here," Avalon replied. "Especially when it gets dark." She looked over her shoulder. "That's not why I came by, though, obviously." She looked at her feet for a moment. "The reason you lost your powers…it was because of something with Skye and Summer wasn't it?"

Zack looked over his shoulder as well then gently closed the door behind him as he accompanied the orange ranger on the front porch. "How did you know?"

"I didn't, at first," she admitted. "But then I thought about it…you were kind of…intense at the hospital and then the way you acted at school…and then finding out that you broke the rule of not being able to escalate a fight." She shrugged. "Then I went to the police station to talk to Chase…and he said something about them not being a problem for me anymore."

Zack tilted his head back to look at the sky. The stars glittered above him, lifting his spirits. A little.

"I couldn't sit back and have them get away with it."

"Yeah, but now they're a problem for _you_. They're not just going to let you do that and have nothing happen. They're going to get revenge in some way."

Zack shrugged. "Being blackmailed into more drugs?"

"Worse," Avalon said grimly. "I've seen them do less over someone coming back a dollar short with the money they owed after a drug run. I've seen Skye wail on a bloke because he didn't have as much money as he thought when he targeted him for a robbery. And that guy was waiting at a bus stop to go home to his kids." She shook her head. "If you beat the both of them up…they're humiliated. It's gonna be bad."

"I was afraid of that." He closed his eyes. _All I wanted to do was have the drug running end. All I wanted was for things to go back to normal. I didn't want any of it in the first place._

"I'm sorry." Avalon seemed to have read his mind. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. If I had known…I would've stayed away from you guys. I would've—"Zack shook his head at her.

"I told you before, Kid. You don't ever have to apologize to me. Don't start now. None of us knew this was going to happen." He crossed his arms to shield himself from the cold, realizing that he was only in a t-shirt and shorts. "So…what do we do now?"

The orange ranger looked like she didn't want to answer his question. He knew what she was going to say. Part of the powers he had gotten from the Power Cube, the psychic powers, gave him the ability to—very slightly—read someone's mind. He could tell what she was going to say.

"I'm sorry, mate," Avalon said slowly. "But…you need to leave Angel Grove. They've set their sights on you now…it's the only way you'll be safe. You and your family."

Zack smiled sadly. "I know."


	27. Unsure

**Chapter 27**

_Unsure_

* * *

 

"Av…are…are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No," Avalon said honestly.

She slowed to a stop and turned to her sister, who was walking as slow as she could, her eyes darting around at every slight sound. It was a nice neighborhood, no doubt about that. One of the ones where the people would help each other when they were away. Not it was any surprise to Avalon, now that she thought about it; Angel Grove was a place where people were nothing but happy-go-lucky. It got on her nerves at times when she didn't find it infectious. Sometimes she found herself randomly smiling in the middle of the day, along with a bout of happiness that infected her.

The first time it happened she thought there was something completely wrong with her. Thinking about it, she found that the rangers really had changed her. Had she changed completely? No; there were still moments where she wondered if taking on the powers of the Stegosaurus was a good idea considering everything she could've avoided if she hadn't. There were still moments where she wasn't used to being in a group and wanted to do everything on her own, a habit she was finding increasingly harder to break now that Zack was leaving the rangers and quite possibly Angel Grove and Trini was leaving as well.

However, she wasn't quite as angry as she used to be, though her short temper could still get her in trouble. She didn't automatically think everyone was out to get her. She wasn't such a tight wad to her sister as she was before, though she was still watching out for her whenever the time permitted. She enjoyed being able to have people that she called her friends after three years of running around with 'friends' that could take her out as quickly as she could blink.

That didn't mean she didn't make questioning decisions that she often beat herself up for later.

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, actually," Avalon replied. She faced her sister completely, jostling the bag she held in her left hand. "I just…I _have_ to get rid of this stuff or else David or Lacey will find it," she explained. "Chase wouldn't let me give it back and I can't really go to the police and say 'Hey, all of this stuff came from the Vipers, even though I'm out now you can still arrest me for possession'." She rolled her eyes.

Bailey gave her a 'duh' look. "I think that's the least of your worries, Sis," She said honestly, starting to walk once more, shifting the box that rested on her palms ever so slightly. "Y'know, considering we're not actual American citizens and everything."

"I know," Avalon agreed. She let out an exaggerated sigh. "To think this is the first time my quick thinking _hasn't_ helped us." It wasn't hard to think about using her father's name to get some sort of leverage when it came to getting into the US in the first place. His name had been on the tickets, as she had noticed, when receiving the 'unaccompanied minors' pass three years before. The way the ticket handler's eyes had widened when she noticed it had been Avalon's first clue that her father was a bigger deal than she originally thought.

"Ha!"

"Anyway, Summer and Skye haven't been seen since what happened with Zack," Avalon continued. She had told Bailey everything the black ranger had told her. How he had fought Summer and Skye and then morphed and continued to fight them until they had run off. He had hurt them enough to draw blood, but not enough so they would be permanently damaged. It had placed a huge target on his back and the orange ranger was ashamed that she had felt nothing but relief after hearing they changed their target from her to him. He had seen the look in her eyes and reassured her that it was OK she felt that way, he just wasn't sure what to say to his parents. "So there's a good chance they hightailed it out of this area in case the police find it. They wouldn't turn things around and tell the police about their assault knowing they'd be arrested right then and there.

"Oh."

Avalon looked at her sister and smiled a little. Bailey had started to walk faster as if the news had caused her feet to grow wings. The orange ranger trailed behind her as they continued towards the warehouse she could see looming in the distance. Once they dropped everything off, they could be back to their normal lives…as normal as it could be. Who knew what would happen now that they were switching out two of their teammates for some new people they had barely known for a few weeks.

 _If Rita and Zedd found out…_ Avalon rolled her eyes. If what the other rangers told her was true, that the space witch and the evil overlord watched their every move, they probably already knew. _Knowing them, they'd send out every known monster under the sun._

Avalon and Bailey arrived at the warehouse and the orange and purple rangers slipped inside. Bailey looked around at all of the holes in the walls and ceiling, allowing dusty light to trickle in through the holes around them. She couldn't believe her sister would spend so much time there, especially considering the stains on the walls and floor showed that they warehouse used to be some sort of a meat packing plant. _And yet they stayed here all the time, planning and plotting all of their attacks on the city,_ she thought.

"Drop it here," Avalon instructed. She set her own bag down onto the ground in a corner and Bailey walked over, very slowly placing the box down as well. Avalon chuckled. "There aren't any bombs in there, Bay."

"You don't know that for sure," Bailey replied. She let go of the box and took a step back, shuddering. It wasn't cold in the warehouse by any means and yet she felt a cold chill roll down her spine. Having seen all of the weapons and drugs her sister had been hiding in the house scared her. She had never seen so many weapons, not even when working on the arsenal that the rangers used when fighting whatever monster was sent their way.

"Whatever, Goober."

Bailey looked up at her sister and watched as she looked around the warehouse, a slow smile stretching across her face. She had never seen her sister so happy in such a long time. There was always a hint of a smile on her face, one ready to come out when the time came.

"C'mon." Bailey walked over to Avalon and took her hand in hers. "We have to meet up with the others remember? To train Rocky, Adam, and Aisha."

"Right."

The girls brought up their communicators and teleported to the park behind a pavilion. They stepped out from around the wooden structure and walked over to their friends, who were waiting on a barrage of brightly colored picnic blankets. "Sorry we're late," Bailey apologized as she sat down next to Tommy, giving him a high-five in greeting. "We had something we had to take care of, first."

"We're not in a rush," Trini replied with a sweet smile. She brought a hand up and pulled her hair behind her ear. "Just enjoying each other's company. Trying to get to know each other better."

"And hearing all of the cool things you guys have done as power rangers," Rocky agreed, a big smile on his face. He was sitting up, arms encircling his legs. "Like the time they gave up their power coins to get their parents back and Jason tricked Goldar into thinking they had given up all of the power coins but still held onto Tommy's Dragonzord coin."

Avalon blinked in surprise before looking at the red ranger, who was sitting across from her. "Really? I didn't know that."

Jason shrugged. "It wasn't the best decision we had to make," he said. "It was really hard…but we knew that we'd do anything for our parents and giving up our powers is one of the things we'd do to protect them."

"It's kinda weird that Rita wouldn't remember the power coin thought," Bailey remarked, running her fingers through her hair. "She was the one that was in possession of it and she watches you guys all the time. You'd think she would've seen you give Jase the power coin."

"Well, as strong as she can be sometimes, Rita doesn't always think," Kimberly said. She giggled before brushing her hair back out of her face. "You guys, do you remember the Pumpkin Rapper?" She, Jason, Zack, Billy, and Trini all burst out into hysterical laughter.

"Or what about the Bloom of Doom?" Trini teased.

"Pudgy Pig!" Zack called out.

"The Oysterizer!" Jason chimed in.

"Grumble Bee," Billy added.

"Pursehead and Lypsyncher!" Tommy said.

The six rangers all burst out into hysterical laughter, slapping their legs and holding their sides as tears streamed down their cheeks. Bailey, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha laughed along as the names of the monsters were that silly. Avalon was the only one who stayed quiet, only managing a half smile, but not laughing along with them as well. It was just another reminder that she was one of the newer rangers, Bailey having come after her, and while they were friends…she still felt she was on the outside looking in. That she was part of the group but wasn't _the group._ She reached over and took a handful of grass, ripping it out of the ground and throwing it away from her.

"Those monsters sound pretty radical," Aisha agreed.

"And you have to face them every day?" Adam added, his eyebrows rising.

"Just about," Tommy said after he sobered up. "There are times where it's been a whole week without Rita and Zedd sending anything down. At that point we usually do our best to keep from mentioning it so that we don't have to worry about being interrupted in whatever we're doing."

"So how do you balance being a ranger, your school work, and all of your after school activities?" Aisha's eyes widened in earnest as she placed her hand on her chest. "Because, I've got homework and some shopping to do. I can't miss a good sale."

"I know!" Kimberly reached over and grabbed onto the African-American girl's arm. "I'm always in the middle of some sort of super sale whenever a monster comes along." She shook her head. "It really doesn't leave enough time for me to go through my sales checks and let me tell you, I know about a sale."

Avalon rolled her eyes. She addressed the three Stone Canyon teenagers. "To answer your question, they're robots," she said dryly. "I haven't seen any other teenager that does as many clubs and extracurricular activities and be so environmentally conscious _and_ still have time to be a ranger." She pretended to think. "Hang on a tick; I think they perform open heart surgery too."

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha laughed.

"Oh come on, we're not _that_ bad," Trini said playfully.

"My point exactly."

Avalon's cold demeanor wasn't lost on the rangers though now wasn't the time to bring it up. Billy cleared his throat and pulled a folder out from his backpack. Opening it, he handed Rocky, Adam, and Aisha a sheet of paper that rested inside. It was the same sheet of paper that Bailey had made before, highlighting each of the rangers' specialties though he had added onto it as well; making what he thought their individual stats would be. The girls were more agile, graceful, and swift while the guys were more powerful. Zack was in between the guys and girls due to his dance training but Avalon was in the middle of the two because of her parkour and street fighting experience. He had added Rocky, Adam, and Aisha onto it, highlighting their use of ninjitsu and the specific areas they were more experienced in.

"Wow." Rocky admired the sheet of paper. "There are a lot of different styles of fighting on here."

"It must make it easier when it comes to fighting different monsters," Adam added. "There're different plans you can come up with that highlight each of your talents as well as helping strengthen your weaknesses."

"That's what we were hoping," Bailey added. "It was why I had decided to make them pointed out to each of them. It could be of assistance to us whilst we strategize dissimilar battle plans in advance of time and give us the ascendancy."

Rocky's eyes widened. "Wow, you're really smart."

"Get used to it," Kimberly said. "She _and_ Billy both talk that way. Especially when they're getting really excited about their science experiments and what they can do to help out our weapons." She gave the blue and purple rangers warm smiles. "Their contributions to our weapons over the years, especially Billy's, has really helped. Having tech advisors be rangers is totally awesome."

"And they're always coming up with new things that'll help us out before we even know we need it," Zack agreed. He faltered for a moment. "I mean, before _you_ know you need it." He flashed a smile which faded almost instantly. Like Avalon had been doing before, he started to rip out blades of grass.

"But the one thing you need to remember about being a ranger is that it's not all fun and games," Jason said. The smiles on the Stone Canyon teenager's faces dropped and they nodded, listening to him. "There are times where you're going to have to make tough decisions between things; what you really want and your ranger duties entail." He glanced over at Trini, who nodded. "You have to keep secrets and you have to lie a lot."

"Your school attendance as well as your grades may fall to the wayside as well," Billy pointed out. "Monsters don't always come up in a set schedule. Sometimes they know we're our most vulnerable while we're at school and they attack then." He shrugged. "You never know."

"And you have to come to terms that everyone around you is in danger," Avalon added. She flipped her hair out of her face and trained her serious eyes onto the three new rangers. "Your parents, your brother and sisters, your friends…anyone that's around you, you're putting in danger. They're going to be a constant target. The less they know about what's going on, the better. But it is a hard thing to deal with, knowing you're going to be leaving your 'normal life' behind." She rubbed her shoulder as it flared with pain.

"You already know the rules," Tommy spoke up again. "You took the pledge that you'll handle all of the responsibility and abide by the rules of being a ranger." Zack shifted uncomfortably as an odd silence hung in the air for a moment. "But there's also the fact that you have to realize that you won't be able to save everyone." He licked his lips, a painful flash going through his eyes. He and the rest of the rangers had watched the news when the funerals of those that had fallen in the latest battle with Sagittaria. It had been sad, so many people that hadn't known what hit them and the next thing anyone knew they were gone. They power rangers were hailed for saving as much of the city as they could, but it was still hard for them to know they couldn't save everyone. "It's a hard fact you're going to face soon and the sooner you get through it…the better. I just want you to be aware of it."

"We can handle it," Adam said firmly.

Though there was still a bit of apprehension in his voice and yet his eyes showed that he was, indeed up to the challenge. He was like Jason in a way, the quieter one of the three, but obviously taking in everything that was being told to him. Rocky was like Zack, whereas he was very optimistic and excited with what was going on, but there was a hint of recognition of the seriousness in what was being told to him. Aisha was like a mixture of Kimberly and Trini; she was as easily excited as Kimberly, but still held a calm air around her as well, listening as the rangers explained what came with being a power ranger.

"Alright!" Zack jumped to his feet, rubbing his hands together. "If that's the case, let's show them what else we can do and get started on the weapons."

"We get weapons too?!" Rocky turned to Aisha and the two high-fived. "This is going to be so cool."

"Let's just show them," Kimberly suggested. The rangers nodded and held out their hands, using their new powers. In between Kimberly's hands whirled a mini tornado, in between Trini's were small crackles of lightning, Billy juggled a ball of water back and forth, and Jason and Avalon both held flames above their hands though Avalon's had a dark, almost black edge to hers while Jason's had a lighter, red glow to the edge of it.

"How'd you do that?" Aisha leaned forward to get a better look. She then tilted her head to the side, looking over at Zack. "And…what was yours?"

"Psychic, I think," Zack replied. He rubbed his chin. "I really don't know exactly what it was. But sometimes I could read minds; it helped to figure out the weak spot of a monster once. I don't know if it'll work like that on all monsters though."

Adam, who now had Zack's powers, gave a tiny smile. "Cool," he whispered, brining his hand up to his power morpher and running his fingers over it. "Is it hard to control?"

"Kind of," Bailey said. She explained the whole story as to how the rangers were able to get the extra abilities; how their father had accidentally injected his daughter with power ranger powers he was trying to come up with his own manufactured powers. How it caused her to be a bit physically stronger than the other rangers as well as he ability to move at a higher rate of speed. It didn't make her the better ranger though, as she couldn't always control the powers she had and as it was easy to abuse. "We don't know the extent to the powers that she has, but when it created the Power Cube it was able to give each of the rangers these sorts of powers. There have been…some side effects. Like Billy once created a storm cloud in his bedroom, other than that it's not that hard. They're helpful in battle, especially with the horoscope monsters that are being sent down now." She looked over to Adam, now tapping her chin. "I don't know if when Zack's powers transferred to you if those abilities went along as well, but I can check when we get to the Command Center."

"We're going back?" Rocky blurted. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again he lowered his voice to appear more serious. "I mean, that's cool. It'd be cool to see it again."

The rangers teleported to the command center and Billy disappeared into a side room to bring out their weapons. As he did so, the rangers watched as Rocky, Adam, and Aisha took in the command center once more. Jason crossed his arms as he watched them. It wasn't that he didn't like them they were nice enough and their ninjitsu was something he couldn't help but be a bit envious of. Their moves were as quick as lightning and the different fighting style would probably help them when the time came.

However, he wasn't so sure if they were ranger material. They seemed way too invested in the glitz and glam that came along with it rather than the intense responsibility. When he and his friends had become rangers they quickly figured out what was more important and even at that moment it seemed like Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were too busy waving their new weapons around to realize they weren't toys.

 _Give them some time, Jase,_ Jason thought. _It's not like they've been in a fight of their own already. It'll take some time for them to get used to._ One look at the rest of the rangers and he could see they were having their own internal battles.

"Right," Billy said. He cleared his throat and picked up his Power Lance. "These weapons are only able to be called down when the time comes that they're actually needed. Otherwise, you should never escalate a battle with them when not needed. Such as fighting the putty patrollers." He gently swung his Power Lance around before pulling them apart to show them as trident-like sai blades. They crackled with electricity. "The Power Lance is mine and it makes up part of the Team Power Blaster. Just like the Power Daggers, Power Axe, and Power Sword does as well."

Rocky grinned and picked up the Power Sword. It flashed red in his hands, the light going from the tip of the blade to his fingertips. It felt good to hold it again. It reminded him of his last battle against Sagittaria. All of the power he felt after having morphed, being able to help defeat putties and send a monster away. It was exhilarating, one of the bet things he had ever experienced in life. Even better than having won first place in a ninja tournament when he was five years old against seven and eight year olds.

"Wow, this is awesome!" Aisha gripped her Power Daggers and started to spin them around her fingers. It was much like the exhibition she would do in the ninja tournaments but then with nun chucks. They were similar in size and weight and moved around her fingers quickly and easily as if they were made for her.

"Check this out." Adam held onto the Power Axe and swung it around for a moment. His hand slipped part of the Power Axe shifted so that it resembled a canon. "Whoa."

"Careful where you point that!" Zack snapped. He walked over to Adam and pulled the Power Axe from his hands, putting it back into its normal position. He placed it onto the top of the cart that Billy continued to stand by, looking frazzled as he watched the rangers play with their new weapons. "Where's Zordon and Alpha when you need them."

"Recharging," Billy replied. _And what perfect timing for that to happen._ He took back the power weapons and placed them on the table. "Yes, yes, those are you weapons. Then we have the Power Bow which is Kimberly's, Saba, which is Tommy's, the Power Staff, which is Avalon's, the Stegorang, which is also Avalon's, and the Ankylo Blaster, which is Bailey's. The Power weapons, minus Avalon's staff, can combine to create a Team Power Blaster. The Stegorang and Ankylo Blasters are much like the ribbon that Kimberly has and other personal weaponry that the rest of us rangers have."

"You're probably going to need a lot of practice with the weapons," Kimberly said kindly. "They can be kind of hard to work when in the heat of a battle."

"I'll bet," Aisha agreed. She clasped her hands together and held them in front of her. If she noticed the tension of the former rangers, she didn't directly mention it. "Thanks for showing us all of this, guys. You really didn't have to. But…it means a lot that you're giving us a chance."

Zack let out a quiet sigh. It was all becoming more real for him now that he wasn't a ranger anymore. Adam had his powers and now he had his power weapon. It was going to be worse when he left Angel Grove, he knew that for sure. Leaving everything he had ever known behind. Leaving his teammates and his best friends with a guy that was learning how to be a ranger. _At least he's taking it seriously,_ Zack thought as he watched Adam continue to look around quietly. _I hope the three of them will know what to do when the time comes. They owe Zordon that much, just like I owe Zordon with giving me this chance myself._

Trini looked over at Zack, knowing he had to be thinking the same thing she was. Knowing she was leaving Angel Grove to spend more time with her family…it was one of the sacrifices they had talked to the new rangers about but it seemed to have gone through one ear and out the other in their excitement. She understood the excitement; she felt the same way up until she had fought against the putties the first time. It was scary and proved Rita meant business when it came to wanting to take over the world. And with the monsters becoming more malicious as time went on… _Am I doing the right thing? Am I leaving at the right time? Is it time for me to go?_ She looked across the Command Center at Billy as he closed a door behind him. If he looked up he would've looked directly at her. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the side and walked over to Bailey, say something to the younger girl that made her nod and tap the side of her forehead as if making a note. _Why won't you talk to me, Billy?_

"So what do think about these guys?" Tommy asked Avalon, who was leaning against a control panel, absentmindedly rubbing her shoulder. "We're going to have to trust them when they join the team."

Avalon made a humming sound. "Is that what you asked the others when I joined?"

Tommy appeared embarrassed. He shuffled his feet before crossing his arms. "Kinda," he admitted. "Due to what you were doing…and how you suddenly came on the scene, we weren't sure if it was a good idea." He cleared his throat. "And then there was how you acted at the beginning—"

"—Don't remind me Tommo, please." Avalon's eyes widened slightly before she let out a sigh of relief. "I really don't want to think about it. Even though I get your point, yeah?" She tilted her head to the side. "I think…it's going to take some adjustment on everyone. I don't think they get how dangerous this all is. But they'll learn." She continued to rub her shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess," Tommy agreed. He glanced at her movements. "How's your shoulder."

"The funny thing is that it's, like, completely healed," Avalon admitted. Tommy glanced at her in confusion. "You know how things are because The Power protects us. It keeps us from getting hurt from ordinary human things as easily. We heal faster. And I think because of my dual powers I can heal even faster. But I can't take the sling off because the Cranstons and people at school and the doctors will wonder how I was able to heal so quickly and I can't answer that." She dropped her hand from her arm. "It's not even that it hurts anymore, its phantom pain or something. The doctor says it'd going to do that for a long time, maybe the rest of my life." She chuckled. "Which you think I'd be used to by now."

The two laughed quietly.

"I just…I hope it's not a bad decision," Avalon admitted. "Having them leave…I never thought that I'd find friends like you all and now…"

"Just because they're leaving doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore," Tommy pointed out.

"Doesn't it?"

"No. We're still going to be friends. We're going to keep in touch…things will be OK. I promise." Tommy placed his hand on her good shoulder and gave her a warm smile, gently shaking her. "Things turned out alright with you."

"I think the jury's still out on that one, mate," Avalon joked. But her smile didn't reach her eyes.

* * *

 

Billy finished showing the Command Center and the rangers' weapons to Rocky, Adam, and Aisha and the rangers teleported back to the park to gather their things and continue on with the rest of their day. Adam decided to stay and practice some of his martial arts. He had leaned back on his left foot and spun around to practice a roundhouse kick, nearly hitting a girl on the forehead as he did so.

"Ah!" The girl cried, quickly backing away as she dropped her purse to the ground.

"Oh." Adam dropped his foot and quickly fell to his knees, replacing everything that had fallen out of the purse and onto the pathway. "I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there." He shoved everything back into the purse and handed it over to the girl. He peered at her, noticing she was Asian and very pretty with a round face that held a beautiful smile. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I managed to scramble backwards just I time," the girl said. She took her purse back from him. "Thank you." Smiling shyly, she looked up at him through her bangs. "You looked really good. Have you always been so good at martial arts?"

"Me?" Adam pointed to himself and looked around for a moment before turning back to her and smiling shyly as well. "Oh. Yeah, well, I've been practicing since I was little so I guess I'm pretty good."

"You look great to me," the girl said.

Adam smiled as his cheeks flushed. She appeared embarrassed as well, suddenly looking at her feet. "I'm Adam." He stuck out his hand towards her. She lifted her head, eyes widening in surprise then gracefully placed her hand in his and allowed him to shake it.

"Sabrina."

Her eyes flashed.


	28. Can't Catch A Break

**Chapter 28**

_Can't Catch A Break_

* * *

 

Avalon rested her chin in her hand and drummed her fingertips against her chin as she barely listened to what Billy was saying to her. Kimberly, who sat on her other side, was filing her nails, not paying attention to the blur ranger either. Sliding lower in her seat, Avalon looked around the classroom. Ms. Appleby was sitting at her desk, grading the tests the student had taken the day before while the students had been broken up into groups to work on a project about social change.

As Kimberly, Avalon, and Billy had been paired together for the project, Tommy, Jason, Zack, and Trini had been grouped together. Billy had immediately gone to work with a schedule that would give them the optimum amount of time to finish it with the 'utmost success'. At least, that was the last thing Avalon had heard until she had completely zoned out, her mind wandering through what would be for dinner that night to wondering how she'd get Bulk and Skull from constantly following her around while she was at school.

Having an increase of security at the school wasn't a bad idea, and she really wanted to give them a chance to prove they really did deserve to be in the junior police academy. But she could only take so much with the way they practically created a path for her as she went to each and every one of her classes.

"So I think that if we get started right after school we should have sufficient ideas before we come to a decision on what to pursue," Billy said. He frowned, slightly pursing his lips as he regarded the two girls in front of him. The orange ranger's head was tilted back, her hair practically dusting the floor, as she stared at the ceiling while the pink ranger was transfixed on her fingernails, studying her cuticles. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"Smurf, I stopped listening after the _first_ five syllable word you threw out," Avalon admitted. She lowered her chin and regarded him with a hiked eyebrow. "Frankly, I'm surprised you even listened to yourself."

"Do you like this shade of pink?" Kimberly moved her left hand over in front of Avalon's face and wiggled her fingers. The coral pink nail polish she had applied the night before sparkled in the light with each movement of her fingers. "I saw it in my makeup bag, though I don't really remember getting it."

"Yeah, that's a nice color. Not as shockingly bright as usually wear."

"Hey!"

"Thanks a lot." Billy reached out and closed his textbook. He crossed his arms, resting them on the book and regarding the girls with an expression of disappointment. "I know I have a hefty vocabulary but if there's ever a problem, you can just ask me."

"Or we can ignore you," Avalon said. She flashed Billy a sweet smile as he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we know that you're not upset about the project or that you got paired with us." She regarded him with a hard stare. "Besides, have I ever gotten a bad grade?" Billy _and_ Kimberly both gave Avalon looks that were filled with massive amount of 'duh'. Avalon's eyes shifted back and forth before she pointed at her desk. "I meant in _this_ class."

Kimberly giggled.

"I'm not upset about anything," Billy protested.

Kimberly reached out and patted the blue ranger's wrist as she gave him a soft smile. "Billy, we know you're upset that Trini's leaving. But why don't you actually try and talk to her?" She removed her hand and glanced over at the yellow ranger, who was listening and taking notes as she listened to what Jason was saying. Turning back to the blue ranger she continued, "It's not helping that you're constantly avoiding her."

"I'm not upset," Billy protested.

"Really?" Avalon's eyebrow hiked even higher. "'Cause I'm sure it's not the Jolly Green Giant that goes rampaging through your lab almost every night yeah?" Billy gave her a pained look. As much as she tried to stay out of his business when it came to how he dealt with his feelings, especially considering she spent most of her time trying to keep him from using her as some sort of a guinea pig for his experiments if not annoyed that he constantly worried about her the second she stepped foot out the front door. "I'm being serious."

"So'm I," Billy protested.

"Billy, what are you so scared of?" Kimberly added.

"He's scared of talking to her," Avalon said.

"No, I'm not."

"Then we just have to force him to do it."

"Exactly."

"I'm _not_ scared."

Billy's protests fell on deaf ears as the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. He let out a loud sigh as he gathered his books together and placed them in his backpack. Avalon slid out of her seat and expertly juggled her books on her left hand, sliding them into her backpack as well. She carefully pulled it up over her shoulder and turned to the rangers beside her. "What are you up to this afternoon, Pinkerbell?" She smirked. "Something with Tommy right?"

Kimberly rolled her eyes, hugging her book to her chest. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying the company of my boyfriend."

"It is when he's stuck carrying your shopping bags," Avalon shot back. She lifted a hand in a wave. "That's alright; we'll just see you later." She grabbed onto Billy's arm and practically dragged him from the classroom. "We're going to get started on our project. Gotta jet." The two left the classroom and joined the large crowd of their school mates as they headed towards their lockers to get their things before heading off towards their weekend of freedom.

"I'm glad you want to get a head start on it," Billy said to her.

"Don't get all hot and bothered, dude; I just said that to get you out of there." She let go of his wrist before pointing at him. "I don't care if you say you're not scared of talking to Trini, mate, you are. I can tell. You just don't want to admit that she's really leaving and having opened yourself up to someone like that and having it end so suddenly hurts. Trust me, I know the feeling."

Billy let out a loud sigh as he slowed to a stop; his sudden slow in momentum causing Avalon to spin around to face him. "I work in the realm of facts and logic, running by my emotions isn't something I'm accustomed to."

Avalon gave him an understanding smile. "And that's why I'm going to help you." She turned around and stood up on her tiptoes, trying to see over the crowd. She finally spotted the yellow ranger at her locker, her long raven hair over her shoulder and gently running her fingers over it as she gazed into her locker. She was going to be leaving the next weekend and had already started to clean out her locker. (Though it always surprised Avalon that for a girl who was so calm and organized with most of her life had such a messy locker). Her lips curled up into a smirk and she quickly moved behind Billy and placed her good hand on his lower back, pushing him forward down the hallway.

"Whoa!" Billy tried to drag his feet on the floor, but the short girl was stronger than he anticipated. "Ava! What're you doing?!"

"Sunny!" Avalon called as she continued to push the blue ranger against his will towards his girlfriend. "Billy wants to talk to you!" She practically shoved him into the Trini and moved out from behind him. "It's kind of important."

"Oh." Trini reached up and gently closed her locker door. "Alright." She tucked her hair behind her ear and nervously glanced up at her boyfriend. "Do you…want to go to the juice bar or something?"

Billy cleared his throat but, finding that he _couldn't_ find his voice, he simply nodded. Taking a step back, he allowed Trini to move away from her locker and the two started off down the hallway. Avalon let out a quiet breath and turned back around, jumping slightly, when she spotted Jason and Zack watching her. "Geez! Don't do that, you boofheads! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, we just couldn't help but be so fascinated with the way you got the two of them to finally talk," Zack said, pointing with his chin down the hallway at the retreating backs of the blue and yellow rangers. "I thought he was going to avoid her forever."

"You're not the only one," Avalon admitted.

Jason shrugged his backpack further up his shoulder. "I just hope they can work things out." His mouth twisted to the side. "Then maybe after that Billy and I can talk. That is, if he's not avoiding me too."

He was still reeling a bit from the forceful way the blue ranger had snapped at him. How could he say that he didn't care that two of his best friends were leaving the power rangers? Not only was he basically being confronted with being a bad friend, but that he didn't care at all. That was the only bitter pill he couldn't swallow. Emotions were never his thing, he didn't show them as much as the others because he had been raised that way. His father always reminded him that 'being a man' was all about thinking logically and picking and choosing his battles. He learned never to show fear in the face of danger and that there was always a time and place in private to show his emotions because it was nothing to be afraid of.

And yet, Billy threw it back in his face making him feel like he was an inch tall. He meant what he said; no one had the right to tell him how to feel. Zack was his best friend in the world and Trini was someone he loved to spar with as well as to protect as much as he could. Both of them were great assets to the team and when they left Adam and Aisha would take their place. They were only just learning how to be rangers, it would take a while for any of them to get used to it. Looking over and seeing the black ranger suit, thinking it would be Zack when in reality it would be Adam was too much to bear.

"No, his constant rampaging is all because of Trini," Avalon reassured him. "Don't worry, Rudolph, he's not that mad at you. He's just …overwhelmed I think is the right word."

"You seem to be making a lot of excuses for him," the black ranger pointed out. He slowly started to smile, reaching out and poking Avalon on her freckled cheek. "What are you hiding?"

"A lot of things," she said deadpan.

Jason chuckled, taking a step forward. "We'll take your word for it," he said. He cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. "Well, Tommy and Kim have a date and those two are going to be talking, so it looks like the Juice Bar is out of the question." He slapped his hand down to his side. "What do you guys want to do?"

Avalon chewed her lower lip for a moment as she had a mental battle with herself. "I was going to head out to the pool hall if you guys want to come," she suggested. As Jason and Zack nodded their agreement, the orange ranger went over to her locker and switched out the books she needed for homework, before the three headed to the pool hall. It probably wasn't a good idea that she was bringing them with her. The pool hall was in a rough part of town, similar to the one that she had been found in by Bulk, Skull, and Lt. Stone at prom, though slightly better. She just needed to figure out a few things and maybe having the two of them there would make it easier for her.

If not protect her a little bit.

The three left Angel Grove and climbed into Jason's red truck. He followed Avalon's instructions to the pool hall, slowing to a stop in the parking lot as they arrived. "This place looks…" he slowed, glancing over at Zack.

"Like a dump?" Avalon supplied. "Yeah, it does. But it's one of the better ones to go to. Trust me." She slid her sling off her arm and unwrapped the bandages from her shoulder. Flexing her fingers, she rolled her shoulder in a few tight circles, watching as the bright colored skin stretched and retracted at her movements. _You're not going to be here long, and if they ask, it won't be hard to explain._ "Let's go." She practically kicked open the back door of the truck and jumped out. "I may have a wounded shoulder, but I bet I can beat you guys."

"Hark? Did I hear the word 'bet'?" Zack jumped out of the truck as well, bringing a hand up to cup his ear. "As in, the way for two or more people to prove that there's a better person in a sort of event? For monetary value or otherwise?"

"Don't go getting all Billy on me, man," Jason said. He placed his hand on Zack's shoulder, gently pushing him away. "But, yes, she did say the word 'bet'." He crossed his arms. "What are we betting, exactly?"

"Money. Duh!" Avalon's face screwed up as she briefly glanced at the ceiling. "A buck a ball should do it. Just so I don't have to embarrass you guys too much over beating both of you." The three rangers walked into the pool hall. Avalon immediately recognized the High Flyers that sat in the back corner. They glanced at her as she, Jason, and Zack walked by to claim a table but otherwise didn't make any motion towards her. _Weird. They were the ones that jumped us…why wouldn't they try anything now?_ Her eyes narrowed for a moment. _They must think the Vipers are completely gone. Maybe Skye and Summer did run out of the city?_

"Hey, Avalon!" The man behind the counter greeted her with his booming voice. "I haven't seen ya in here for a while."

"I know, I've had a lot of stuff I needed to do," Avalon said. She walked over to the counter the other two rangers following her. "These are my friends Jason and Zack." She motioned to them before waving a hand towards the man. "This is Smitty. He owns the place."

"Nice to meet you, sir." Jason shook his head and smiled warmly. Zack shook his hand as well. "It's a, uh, interesting place you got here."

"Yeah, well, I take pride in the place, y'know?" Smitty replied. He reached out a hand and slapped Avalon on her good shoulder. "I hope you don't plan on playing against this one. She's really good. Even beat me a few times." Avalon gave a modest smile. Smitty then looked around the room, lifting his chin. "So what's going on? I haven't seen Chase, Skye, or Summer around in a while. They aren't with you?"

Behind her, Avalon could feel Jason stiffen as soon as the names were mentioned. She had a good guess, and could practically sense that Zack's demeanor had suddenly shifted as well. Brushing her hair behind her ears, she flashed Smitty what would best be considered a grimace. "Chase had to go away for a while…and I haven't seen Summer and Skye. Thought you might've heard from them."

Her eyes narrowing, Avalon zeroed in on the snickers that came from behind her. She was certain the members of the High Flyers that were there had heard what she said. Her blood boiled. Not only for the fact that they were sitting there gloating at their victory, but because they knew there was nothing she could do about it. Not there.

"Nah, I haven't heard nothin'," Smitty sad. He rubbed his chin for a long moment as he thought about it. "Not for a few weeks."

"Ace. Thanks." Avalon turned around and pushed through the red and black rangers, moving over to the back corner of the pool hall and grabbed a cue off of the wall and passed it back and forth between her hands before leaning on it. "OK, so I can explain myself before you two go jumping down my throat—"

"—No need," Jason interrupted. Startled, Avalon's eyes widened as she regarded the red ranger. He had picked up his own pool cue and was scanning the balls that littered the table. After a moment he lifted his gaze and looked at her, his eyes softening. "Really. Don't worry about it. If you had a reason for wanting to come here…then you had your reason and we shouldn't question it."

Avalon and Zack both exchanged a confused if not wary glance. This wasn't the same Jason that had badgered her about learning martial arts, being part of a team, and deciding between what was right and wrong. He wasn't even trying to tell her what his opinion of the situation was as he normally did, reverting back to his habitual leadership role and speaking his mind.

"Are you feeling OK, man?" Zack asked him. He turned to Avalon. "This is the guy that, even though he has his own sweet tooth, did a good job of making me feel guilty about my eating habits when we were eight." He shook his head. "And kids that are supposed to do nothing but eat junk and watch TV."

"Well excuse me for being disciplined," Jason defended himself. Something flashed through his eyes and through those words, a tense cloud wrapped around them. A few moments later the look cleared and he had a challenging smile on his face. "So! We're playing for a buck a ball right? Who wants to break?" He turned to Zack, who continued to look at him funny before shaking his head. Shrugging, Jason turned back to the orange ranger. "Avie?"

It took Avalon a moment before she responded. She was trying to figure out what had changed his sense of self. He was never afraid to say what he thought about her life and her life's choices since he had first met her and now he was letting her off the hook. _Something's definitely wrong with this bloke,_ she thought. But she decided not to press it further either. The last thing she wanted to do was open up the can of worms that was the Vipers. Even if she was out, she knew it would be a long time before its grasp completely let go of her.

"Sure," she said. Challenge filled her body and she picked up the chalk, rubbing it over the tip of her pool cue. "But fair warning you now that I haven't broken and not sank any balls in a long time."

Jason merely smiled and held out his arm, motioning for her to take her shot.

Zack gathered the colored balls and placed them in the triangle holder. He moved them around a little bit before placing the front ball, the number one ball, on the black circle on the green felt. Avalon then placed the cue ball on the other black circle and shifted the pool cue to her left hand. Bringing her right hand forward, she placed it on the table, holding her thumb and index finger in a circle. Positioning the pool cue into the hole her fingers formed, Avalon studied the table for a moment then shot the pool cue forward. It struck the cue ball and rocketed the white object across the table and into the colored balls that sat at the other end of the table.

She stood up straight, watching as four of the fifteen colored balls went in, the first one being a solid. She took another shot, but missed the closest solid ball in numerical order, frowning as she backed up so Jason could take a shot. Glancing over at him, she noticed his and then Zack's mouths had dropped open slightly. Smiling, Avalon rested her weight against the pool cue as it rested against the ground. "I've heard flies don't taste very good, yeah?"

Jason closed his mouth and picked up his pool cue. "Watch and learn, Avie. Soon you're going to be the one that's emptying your pockets." He brought up his pool cue and angled it towards a striped ball and made the shot. It sank down into the corner pocket.

"Nice," Zack said. "That's five balls so far. About ten left to go."

Jason and Avalon went back and forth taking their shots on the balls that were for them to sink to win, leaving the eight ball aside so that they could go for it last and end the game. The battle went back and forth for a few turns until Avalon finally got a lucky shot, where the cue ball moved directly next to the eight ball, merely inches away from the side pocket where she quickly sank the ball and won the game.

"Ha! I win!" Avalon cheered.

"Nice one, Kid!" Zack gave her a high-five. "I don't think I've seen Jase lose at anything. Great job being the first one to do so." He reached out and ruffled her hair, causing Avalon to laugh and back away from him, smoothing down her hair. "Now, I hope you go easy on me. Dad hasn't given me my allowance yet."

"No worries," Avalon held up a hand. "I won't kick your butt too badly. But I have to get some sort of entertainment somehow."

"Fine. Just as long as it's not too bad."

Avalon smiled and watched as Jason and Zack set up the table for another round of playing. Standing back, she turned her body to the side so that she was still facing the red and black rangers, but could still hear the High Flyers beside her.

_"It's the end of them. Tim confirmed it this morning. They're all gone."_

_"What about the one over there?"_

_"Out."_

_"Really?"_

_"Positive. I was there. One of her own shot her. If that's not being turned out, I don't know what is. Now all we have to do is get rid of the other two and get our money."_

_"Not possible; Summer and Skye haven't been heard of. Word on the street is that they got jumped and now they've hightailed it. Can't stand to show their fucking faces I bet."_

_"Should make things easier for us now. Let's roll."_

Avalon kept her eyes forward as the High Flyers abandoned their pool table and left the hall. She didn't relax until she heard the front door close against the door frame. So her suspicions had been correct. Zack having beaten them up embarrassed them enough for them to leave town. Chase was behind bars and more than likely wouldn't be getting out for years if he ever got out at all, Lance was still in jail, and she had narrowly managed to avoid jail simply because she had become a police informant before things went shooting downhill.

So why did she still feel like something was wrong?

The red, black, and orange rangers continued to play game after game until Avalon came out victorious, proving that she, indeed, knew what she was doing. However, winning gracefully was never one of her strong suits and she practically danced around the pool hall for ten minutes before calming down long enough to get the money the boys owed her. Having finished their games the three went outside and slowly headed over towards Jason's truck so they could go home.

"So where'd you learn to play like that?" Zack slid his arm around Avalon's shoulders, making sure the weight of his arm didn't hurt her.

"There are a _lot_ of rainy days back in Oz so I had to spend my time doing something when I couldn't surf," Avalon replied. "That is if I wasn't getting in trouble."

"That doesn't seem like something you'd get into," Jason said sarcastically.

"So I get bored easily, Rudolph, sue me." She reached out and jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

"Y'know I could, considering all of the grief you've put us through."

"And I could easily send your butt to jail. I have many talents and being an amazing person is just one of them."

"Yeah, right."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Geez and you get annoyed when Tommy and Kim flirt with each other." Jason and Avalon both suddenly stopped walking. Zack continued a few more paces then, feeling his arm slide off of Avalon's shoulders, turned back to the rangers. They held different expressions on their faces though they had both been affected by what he had just said. "What?"

"Nothing," Jason and Avalon said at two different times.

Zack slowly started to grin, showing his teeth. He then started to laugh, bringing his arms around his stomach and bending over. "God, you two crack me up. You can't possibly tell me that—"

Zack was cut off as the ground around the three rangers suddenly erupted in blue sparks. Crying out in surprise they shielded their faces before rolling out of the way of the attack and turning to face who had attacked them.

"Rangers!" Goldar stood before them, thrusting his sword high in the air. "You should've known it wasn't the last you've seen of me!"

"Not you again," Jason growled. He was kneeling on the ground, hands clenched into fists, ready to go into action. His eyes shifted towards Goldar's sword. He hadn't forgotten that the monster now had the powers of the Azurite Healiodore. Who knew what he would be able to do to them with that extra ability. Create a shockwave that would blow them apart before they could even blink? They had seen a lot through their battles and knew he couldn't put it past them. "I thought we got rid of you."

"I'm here to show you what _real_ power is," Goldar replied.

"You can't get any more powerful than the power rangers," Zack shot back.

On his other side, Avalon glanced at him. He was being really brave for someone who had lost their powers, she realized. Either that or he was putting on a false bravado which, on the other hand, would be really stupid.

"Well let's see how you do with this!" Goldar waved his sword over his head and putties appeared in front of him, wiggling all over het place and moving closer to the rangers.

"We have to do something," Jason said. Holding out his arms in front of Zack and Avalon, he started to shuffled backwards away from the putties, moving his friends along with him. "We can't just sit here."

"We can't…I mean, _you_ can't morph," Zack protested. He looked around them. People who had been going in and out of the Pool Hall as well as those that were going into the nearby stores were screaming and running. "There are too many people around."

"Then we're going to have to do something else."

"Like what?"

"Wait!" Avalon stood up from her crouched position eyes darting around. The Pool Hall, the block of restaurants and stores while on the other side of the block was the back portion of Haywood Heights. She knew exactly where they were. "Follow me!" Before Goldar or the putties could react she leapt up and rolled over the hood of the car next to her, putting it between her, Goldar, and the putties. "C'mon!"

Jason and Zack followed her, though less gracefully as they practically ran over the hood of the car. Hearing Goldar's cry of "don't just stand there, get them!" behind the rangers, once Avalon was on her feet and running as fast as she could—a bit frustrated that she couldn't use her enhanced speed, knowing Jason and Zack wouldn't be able to catch up. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the putties keeping up a good pace with them. The putties weren't the problem; it was keeping Goldar away from innocent bystanders that was the goal.

Skidding around the nearest corner, she directed Jason and Zack down a narrow alleyway. "Keep going!" She called moving behind them. The putties came around the corner behind them and continued running after the three. Jason and Zack passed underneath a fire escape. Avalon raced towards it. She jumped up onto a trashcan that was in front of her and using her momentum, kicked off the wall and leapt up, reaching out her hands above her head. She wrapped her hands around the bottom rung of the ladder and the force of her weight sent it flying towards the ground as the putties raced underneath her.

As the ladder stopped, Avalon swung her body forward and flipped off the ladder, landing on the back of a putty and driving it into the ground. Its Z-plate hit the ground and it turned into dust underneath her. She then started running once more as the putties continued after her.

Jason, Zack, and Avalon continued through the alleyway until they reached the other side, bringing them to an abandoned building. She could see the boys slowing down in front of her. "Go in!" She directed, slowing to a stop behind them.

"There could be a trap," Jason reasoned.

"It'd be better than dealing with these guys," Zack said as he turned back to face the putties. He made quick footwork and did a spinning kick, smacking a putty in the Z-plate. Jason and Avalon took his lead and fell into a fight beside him. Zack did a body wave and used the extension of his hands and feet o make quick work of some putties.

Jason ducked out of the way as a putty went flying over head and blocked the grasp of another one; he grabbed onto the putties arm and drove his fist into its Z-plate. As it started to crumbled he flipped it over onto its back and drove and elbow into the putty behind him. "Hiya!" Centering his weight on his left foot, Jason then did a spinning kick; rotating three times and kicking his right foot straight up into the face of a putty before bringing his left fist down into the plate, destroying another one.

Pressing her feet together, Avalon did a standing back flip and kicked a putty in the Z-plate on her rotation. Once she landed on the ground she rolled onto her back until she was resting on her upper shoulders and kicked her legs out. She wrapped her legs around a putties neck, squeezing with her ankles, and then twisted her feet, the movement twisting the putty as well, flipping it over and smacking it to the ground. She rolled backwards until she was on her knees and surged herself forward in a cartwheel. She did a butterfly twist into a loser flip, striking more putties with her feet as she went.

Finally, the putties were defeated.

"Just because you beat the putties doesn't mean I'm done!" Goldar roared, his eyes flashing a bright red. With a howl, he spread his arms and glowed a bright blue, taking on the power of the Healiodore. With startling speed he flew towards the rangers with a single flap of his wings. The rangers rolled out of the way.

"Whoa! He moves as fast as I can at top speed," Avalon gasped.

"This doesn't look good," Zack murmured. "You guys have to morph."

"It doesn't look like he's giving us a chance," Jason said. He ducked, rolling forward as Goldar flew overhead. This time he swung his sword, it connecting with the ground in a brilliant wave of sparks where Jason had just been standing. "He's more powerful than I thought."

Avalon glanced over her shoulder at the abandoned building. There was a clearing on the other side, a good place for them to morph. But with Goldar moving that fast, they were going to need to get some distance between them and him. "D'you trust me?" She asked them.

Jason and Zack looked at each other then nodded. When Goldar tilted and started to fly towards them once more, Avalon shoved out her hand as it glow orange, sending a stream of fire towards the humanoid ape. Jason followed her lead, sending out his own stream of fire from his glowing red hands as quickly as possible. Not wanting to fly directly into the fire, Goldar pulled upwards, allowing Avalon, Jason, and Zack enough time to race into the abandoned building.

With the orange ranger leading the way, the three raced through the building and up numerous floors. Goldar, having recovered from the setback, roared loudly and shot into the building behind them. The force of the energy wave his wings created behind him, the walls around him crumbled as he whizzed by. Soon the speed and energy of his flight chased the rangers up onto the roof. Avalon slowed by the edge of the roof, looking at the roof of the building across from them. All they had to do was get down the other side and then they could morph.

"Ha ha ha!" Goldar laughed as he came up behind them. He lifted his sword high. "Now's the time for my revenge, red ranger!"

"Right now would be a really great time for giving us the reason to trust you, Avie," Jason murmured. His hands were brought up by his face, clenched into fists, lightly rocking back and forth on his toes.

"I'm working on it, mate," she replied, wiping sweat off her forehead. Once more, she glanced behind her, mentally calculating the steps it would take to make it over to the other side. It was about ten feet to the other side, something she had managed numerous times before. However calculating a jump for someone of Zack's height compared to her own could prove to be a mistake. "Seven steps," she suddenly said.

"What?" Jason and Zack turned to her.

"It'll take seven steps for you to get from here to there. Me almost twice that because I have shorter legs."

"What?"

"You can do it. If I can, you can."

Avalon took a step towards Goldar then turned and started to sprint across the roof, pumping her arms and legs. In twelve steps her right foot was on the edge of the roof, pushing her forward and launching her into the air. As she flew towards the other building she swung her feet in front of her to use as a landing point, the movement also bringing her forward. She landed on the roof of the building and rolled, using the roll to slow herself down as well as to keep herself from damaging her legs. However, something went wrong in her roll and she felt intense pain shoot through her injured shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain.

Bringing her hand up, she grabbed onto her shoulder and watched as Jason and Zack both took her lead and jumped over the gap and landed on the roof of the building as well. She led the three of them down the fire escape that was on the side of the building and into the cleared area in front of them that was a vacant lot. No other sign of life was around.

"You guys better do it now," Zack said. He swallowed thickly, his hand moving over the empty front of his jeans. "Before Goldar gets here again. You can't waste any time."

"Right." Jason turned to Avalon. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"It's Morphin' Time!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

Jason and Avalon pulled out their power weapons and charged towards Goldar as he flew over the top of the building and careened towards the rangers.

* * *

 

Billy took a long sip of his smoothie before placing the blue plastic cup aside on the table. Across from him, Trini leaned back against her seat, gently rubbing her arms. The award silence continued to stretch the between the two of them and had since they arrived at the Youth Center and ordered their drinks.

 _I didn't think it'd be this hard,_ Billy thought. He took a breath. "I just…I guess I just don't get why you didn't say anything for so long."

Trini appeared startled by his sudden speech then shook her head. "It wasn't that long," she contradicted him. "I had told my parents about my decision to go…that was the part that took the longest. Telling them what I wanted to do."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Billy thought re-phrasing the question would give him a better answer. She was focusing on her parents and what she wanted. Not to be selfish in the slightest, but it didn't appear to him that she thought of his feelings in the matter. "When they first brought up the trip to Vietnam?"

Trini chewed her lower lip, finding it hard to meet his gaze.

He wished she would look at him. All he wanted to do was be able to look at her eyes and see everything was going to be OK. Maybe it was why she wouldn't look him in the eye. She knew if she did he would see everything in her eyes and know it would be worse than being kept in the dark. For as much as Billy preferred to live in logic as well as the unknown—in the case of his experiments—emotions did take a big part of his life. He feared for his parents each time a monster attack came, he feared for his friends in said attacks while they were all fighting alongside each other, he got nervous when he had to give speeches, and yet found himself confident over explaining his findings to those close to him, he was anxious when it came to dating, yet silly when around his friends in a relaxed setting.

Now sitting in front of Trini he felt a sense of dread, knowing what was going to come sooner rather than later. Statistically speaking he knew long distance relationships at their age never worked out. But he didn't want to live in statistics as much as his brain was telling him to. His heart was telling him to believe in what the two of them had, even if it was short.

And yet, he found that he couldn't.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Maybe because I knew how you would react."

"How am I reacting?" He hoped it was calm.

Trini gave him a warm smile, though her eyes were still sad. "Better than I had hoped," she admitted. Billy wanted to tell her she was wrong; he wanted to admit to Avalon's claims that he was rampaging through his house as he wasn't sure how to express himself. He was short tempered and immersed himself in his work. It was why he had blown up at Jason so badly. The red ranger had barely reacted to the news that the yellow ranger was leaving. And the blue ranger suddenly directed his own anger on to him. Anything that would give him the chance to release that pent up aggression.

"In typical Billy fashion, trying to systematically and logically deal with what I told you rather than saying what's in your heart," Trini said. Billy gazed at her in wonder and she gave him a mysterious smile. "I'm not a witch and I don't have any special powers." She chuckled and he knew she was thinking of The Power. "I guess I just know you well enough to know you're feeling the same way I am." She reached out and grabbed onto his hands. "I'm scared, Billy. Not only because I'll be leaving you all when you're at a vulnerable place in time, but because I don't know how things are going to be with us when I do leave."

"Because of your parents."

It was a statement, not a question. He knew her mother and father were probably more than happy she was giving the life they wanted for her a chance. That she was leaving him behind. It was all they wanted since they had started to go out. The sudden disdain for him and been a bitter pill to swallow.

"Because you don't know how long you'll be gone. Because we don't know what's going to happen when you get back…if you do."

Trini's eyes widened. "I'll come back."

"But you don't know how long you'll be gone. You may like it there so much you'll move there. Tri, you love your family, meeting new people, and see what the world has to offer for you. You don't want to be stuck in Angel Grove."

"I'm not stuck."

"Not yet, but you might be."

Billy swallowed thickly. He had gone to talk to her—forced into it really—and hoped he would get her to stay. But that's not what he would be able to do without having a guilty conscience. He knew it then. She couldn't stay and he wouldn't let her stay. Trini must've recognized that for she lowered her head, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Did you know that even though soccer is the most popular sport in Vietnam, other sports of interest include table tennis, volleyball, badminton, tennis, and martial arts?" Billy reached out and gently wiped the tear away from her. "So with your martial arts training and your love of volleyball you won't be bored." He gave a slight smile. "And if you learn how to write in Vietnamese, I'd love it if you could let me know of some of the medicinal practices they're working on over there."

Trini giggled lightly. "Oh, Billy." She lifted her head and smiled a water smile at him. "I'm going to miss you, so much."

"I'm going to miss you, too." Billy surprised himself by leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. Trini responded in kind before wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her forehead on his shoulder. Billy hugged her back, holding onto her tightly.

The two sat there, wrapped in each other's arms for as long as they could take it. Finally they broke apart and sat comfortably in their silence as they finished their drinks. The two then gathered their things and walked hand-in-hand out of the youth center and back in the direction of their house, taking their time.

"Oh, isn't this sweet!" The vicious voice sounded from above them. "If only Goldar and I could share the same sort of feelings…if only it wouldn't make me _puke_!" Billy and Trini whirled around and looked up at the roof of the youth center where Scorpina sat on the edge, lovingly running her fingers along the blade of her sword.

"Scorpina!" Trini cried.

Scorpina snorted. "This is my big 'welcome back?'" She stood up. "Well, let _me_ start the party!" She threw her blade like a boomerang. The resulting blasts of energy knocked Billy and Trini off their feet and onto the ground a few feet away.

"She's going to be tough," Billy murmured. "If the rest of the horoscope monsters haven't shown us that already." He grabbed onto his morpher. "It's Morphin' Time! Triceratops!"

"Saber-Tooth Tiger!"

"Power Lance!" Billy summoned his power weapon and leapt towards Scorpina, bringing his lance down in a mighty slash. Scorpina brought up her sword and knocked the lance out of Billy's hands. As soon as the weapon was out of her way, she slashed him across the chest, knocking him backwards from the blow.

"Blade Blaster!" Trini brought out her gun from its holster and shot it towards Scorpina. Maybe the energy blasts from a far range attack would prove better than a closer range one. Scorpina merely raised her hands and moved away each blast, directing it off towards the side. Trini continued firing her blaster and Billy rolled over and grabbed his lance. He turned around and slashed the lance down across Scorpina's back, causing her to screech in pain.

Twisting around, she kicked Billy in the chest then turned back to Trini and threw her crescent shaped sword. It flew through the air like a boomerang and struck the yellow ranger in the chest, sending her back on the ground.

"Ha ha!" Scorpina brought her hand up to her eyes and sent out a bolt of red energy from her hand, striking them once more.

Billy and Trini flew back and landed on the ground, struggling to get up. Trini brought her arms in on herself and rolled onto her side, moaning in pain. Billy brought his wrist up to his mouth. "Come in. Scorpina is attacking near the Youth Center."

"Jase and Av are busy with Goldar," Zack's voice replied seconds later. "He's really strong with the power of the Healiodore."

"Goldar's out too?" Billy asked.

Zordon's voice then came over the communicator. "It is just as I feared. Rita and Zedd have sent out Goldar and Scorpina to break up the team, to make it harder to fight as one. You will have to defeat one before they get the opportunity to grow and create even more danger."

"We're on our way!" Kimberly's voice came over the communicator.

In a matter of seconds, Kimberly and Tommy flew overhead, striking Scorpina in the face with an outstretched foot. She backed up a few spaces and the pink and white rangers helped the blue and yellow rangers off the ground.

"Be careful, guys, Scorpina is stronger than ever now," Trini said, leaning heavily on Kimberly's side. "Our blade blaster and his power lance didn't have any effect on her."

"It's like her powers have been enhanced by Rita's and Zedd's magic have increased the power she already had," Billy added. "Much like charging and a batter already at maximum, they're just increasing the power that's already situated in the capsule."

"Man, that doesn't sound good," Tommy said.

"If only Zack could help us," Kimberly added.

"Power rangers! Prepare to be destroyed!" Scorpina laughed again and shot out another beam of energy towards the rangers, giving them a direct hit. The rangers were knocked backwards once more.

Billy bellowed with pain, feeling her energy blow through him once more. He could take another hit. Scorpina was too powerful; much like Sagittaria was the first time around. They had to do something, anything that would keep the rest of Angel Grove from being destroyed and more people getting hurt. Hearing the sound of electricity crackling, Billy looked over to the side and watched as Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were teleported nearby.

"Are you guys alright?" Rocky called. He led Aisha and Adam over to the rangers and helped them off the ground.

"What?"

Billy looked back to the other side and watched as Trini immediately demorphed. "Trini!" He placed a gloved hand on her shoulder and looked her up and down. She didn't appear to be hurt anymore than the others were. "Are you alright?"

"What happened?" Kimberly asked. "She demorphed."

Billy looked over at Aisha, his mind racing a mile a minute. Before he could reply, Avalon, Zack, Jason, and Bailey teleported along with Goldar suddenly appearing by Scorpina's side. As soon as Jason's feet touched the ground, he demorphed as well.

"What's going on?" Jason brought a hand up to his chest, eyes widening when he saw he was back in his street clothes. "I demorphed?"

"Trini demorphed too," Tommy pointed out. "Billy, you have any ideas?"

"The powers that were copied to Rocky and Aisha," Billy murmured, everything falling into place as he spoke out loud. "They must be unstable when they're together at the same time. Aisha and Trini must not be able to be morphed at the same time and once Aisha came upon the scene, the Power recognized it and is giving Aisha the ability to morph."

"Now that's music to my ears!" Goldar declared. He turned to Scorpina, who smirked back at him. "Let's finish them for good this time!"

"Yes, Goldar! Let's!"

A sudden bolt of lightning fell from the sky and landed on Goldar and Scorpina. When the smoke from the resulting thunderclap, Scorpina and Goldar both screamed with malicious laughter as they towered over the rangers and Angel Grove.

"Oh, I didn't think we'd have to deal with this again so soon," Bailey murmured. "We haven't even found if she has a weakness yet."

"This isn't the first time we've faced Scorpina," Kimberly said. "And trust me, she doesn't have a weakness."

"Rocky, Adam, Aisha," Zordon's voice came from the communicators. "Now is the time for you to harness the Power and morph along with the rest of the rangers and fight by their side. Good luck and may the Power protect you."

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha glanced at each other before nodding and grabbing their power morphers.

"Mastodon!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The three stood in front of the rangers, newly morphed. Kimberly helped Trini to her feet and handed her off to Zack and Jason, who moved out of harm's way, but staying close by in case they were able to help out their friends.

"Now it's time for you guys to get acquainted with your zords!" Tommy turned and held Saba up into the air. "I call upon the power of the zords!"

With a mighty roar the zords came out of hiding and raced towards Angel Grove to help them out. The rangers all leapt up into the cockpits of their zords.

"Adam here, all systems go."

"This is Billy, locked and loaded."

"Aisha here, ready to rumble."

"This is Kimberly, I'm ready to go!"

"Rocky here, this is awesome."

"This is Avalon, ready to rock and roll!" Avalon concluded.

"Bailey here, I'm all set."

"Tommy here. Let's bring in the thunder power."

"Stegosaurus, Phoenix, Thunderzord power!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord power!"

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord power!"

"Saber tooth Tiger, Gryphon, Thunderzord power!"

"Tyrannosaurs, Red Dragon, Thunderzord power!"

The thundermegazord came together and stood beside Tommy's white tigerzord in thunder mode. Bailey's Ankylosaurus zord stood nearby as well as Avalon's phoenix zord gently glided nearby. "Thunder Megazord, power up!"

Billy grabbed onto the controls of his Unicorn Thunderzord and braced himself as Scorpina in her real form, a nasty looking scorpion monster, raced towards the rangers, its sword held high. She swung it in a large arc and struck the face of the thundermegazord. The thundermegazord fell back to the ground.

"Is everyone OK?" Rocky called.

"Yeah, just a bit shook up," Adam replied.

"Let's get back up, guys, we need to stop Scorpina and Goldar," Kimberly said, frantically pushing buttons on her portion of the cockpit. The thundermegazord got back to its feet and fell into battle amongst Scorpina as Goldar raced forward and attacked Tommy's zord.

"Face it rangers, you're out numbered!" Goldar cried. He knocked the hands of Tommy's zords off him and brought his sword up above his head. The blade glowed a bright blue and collected with energy at the tip of the blade. He swung it down and caught Tommy's zord in the face.

_Shield's down to forty percent._

"Whoa!" Tommy was rattled with the impact of the zord falling to the ground but was otherwise unhurt. Goldar had moved a lot faster than he had thought. _The power of the Healiodore must be merging with him faster than we thought. We have to figure out the source of that power and how to stop it. And soon._ "I've been hit hard, guys. My shields are steadily falling."

"Hang on, Tommy, we're doing our best," Aisha said to him.

The thundermegazord got back to its feet and with the rangers directing it, did a solid job of holding off Scorpina as she continued to attack them. Billy's helmet clad head cracked against the side panel. He watched as Avalon and Bailey directed their zords forward and attacked Goldar and Scorpina with a beam of energy from the Phoenix's flapping wings and the Ankylosaurus's spikes. However their blasts didn't do much damage to their opponents either.

"Bay, why don't we try out that configuration we were working on?" Billy suggested, pushing a few buttons on his control panel, getting things ready.

"What's that?" Kimberly asked.

"Forget it rangers, you won't defeat us!" Goldar shouted, his voice booming among the air around them.

"You know how we had the configurations with Ava's Stegosaurus zord that allowed us to use it as a separate weapon?" Billy questioned. At Kimberly's confirmation he continued. "It's like that, however this time, we're going to be tapping straight into Bailey's power grid for the Ankylosaurus zord and that should give us more power."

"I'm ready when you are," Bailey said.

"Let's do this!"

"I'll create a distraction," Avalon said. She directed the phoenix zord to fly around Scorpina and Goldar, the latter who had one foot on top of Tommy's tiger zord, periodically stomping on the face.

"Shoo fly, don't bother me," Scorpina complained, swatting at the air.

Avalon continued to fly her phoenix zord around until the resulting winds knocked Scorpina and Goldar backwards, giving Billy enough time to finish the docking sequence with Bailey's Ankylosaurus zord. As his zord was the leg of the Thunder Megazord, the Ankylosaurus zord created what was like a armored boot on its foot with a spiked toe.

"Ankylo-Thunder Mega Kick!" Billy and Bailey cried in unison as they thrust forward with their control sticks. The foot of the thunder Megazord kicked out and sent a mighty kick to Scorpina and Goldar, striking the two with the force of kinetic energy behind the kick and striking them with the spikes, dealing a critical blow.

"Now let's finish it off," Rocky declared. "Thunder Saber!" The thunder megazord's sword appeared in the hand of the zord and swung it back and forth a few times. "Ready guys?"

"Ready!" Came the unanimous reply. "Thunder Saber strike!"

The rangers swung the saber forward and slashed Scorpina and Goldar, causing them to cry out and fall to the ground, reverting back to their smaller state. Goldar scrambled to his feet. "This isn't the last you've heard of us, rangers!" He and Scorpina thrust their swords into the sky and disappeared in flashes of light.

"Tommy?" Kimberly called. "Are you OK?"

"The Tiger zord took a heavy beating," Tommy replied. "But it'll be alright."

The rangers jumped out of the cockpits of their zords and landed on the ground, crouched on one knee. They watched as their zords dismantled and went back to their hiding places before powering down. Once demorphed Rocky, Adam, and Aisha looked around at the destruction that had befallen Angel Grove. It wasn't as extensive as what Sagittaria had done, but it sent the message home.

"Oh man," Rocky said, placing his hand on his hips. "This place really took a thrashing."

"And it's what happens every day out here," Adam reminded him. "The responsibility really is in our hands now." His eyebrows furrowed together with worry. Aisha noticed and moved up to his side, wrapping her arms around his.

"We can handle it," she said firmly. But there was a little bit of doubt in her eyes.

"Are you guys OK?" Jason led Trini and Zack over to the rangers, who all nodded in agreement. He nodded back, a troubled look in his eye.

* * *

 

That night, Billy found himself up at all hours trying to find out as much as he could about the Azurite Healiodore and the power it was capable of. He yawned and glanced at the time, about two in the morning, before turning back to his computer.

The sound of someone teleporting caught his attention and he whirled around to find Trini walking over to him, dressed in a sweatshirt and shorts, obviously having been asleep before walking over to him. She sat down on a stool next to him and the two exchanged a smile before they turned back to the computer.

* * *

 

Avalon sat up in her bed, painfully rubbing her shoulder. In the bed beside her, her sister slept soundly, as most nights went. She let out a sigh, pressing her fingers into the scar on her shoulder, where the bullet had entered. The pain seemed to subside the longer she pushed her fingers into the marred skin.

And yet no matter how well things healed, she knew the pain was always going to haunt her. As she had said to Zack earlier, there were a lot of things she hadn't told the rangers about herself and one of them was her fear of showing weakness. Not only because of being in the Vipers, but because of it being one of the values her father had bestowed upon her when she was young.

She wasn't to complain or make excuses.

_"If you had a reason for wanting to come here…then you had your reason and we shouldn't question it."_

Removing her hand from the scar, the orange ranger flopped back against her pillows, looking up at the ceiling.

Maybe things weren't so bad.


	29. Say Goodbye

**Chapter 29**

_Say Goodbye_

* * *

 

"We're going to be late if we don't get going now!" Billy called as he knocked on the bedroom door.

Avalon rolled her eyes as she turned to her sister, who pulled her backpack up over her shoulder. The orange ranger carefully slid her uninjured arm into her backpack strap and pulled her hair out from underneath the fabric that lay across her back. "God forbid we ruin your perfect school attendance." She walked over to the door and pulled it open. "Reckon what'd happen if you ever got a grade lower than an 'A'."

Bailey laughed.

Billy gave a half smile, placing his hands on his hips. "Actually that's happened once and, as per usual, Rita sent out a monster that directly correlated with it. And, to sound like you, I think it all came good." He tried his hand at an Australian accent at the end of his sentence and both Australian girls gave him weird looks. "I'm trying."

"Try harder, because that was abysmal," Bailey teased.

Billy laughed sarcastically. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a brown lunch bag. "Here's your breakfast. Let's go." Turning on his heel he moved from the doorway and the two girls followed after him, trying to keep up with his long legged pace.

"Geez." Avalon rolled her eyes, throwing her left arm into the air. "You were so bent out of shape with Trini leaving and now that you've actually talked to her, you're even more unbearable than usual. If I knew you would be _this_ impatient to get to school to see her on the last day I wouldn't have pushed you into talking to her."

"Yes, you would," Bailey insisted. "Anything is better than listening to him pretending he was fine."

"Could you please _stop_ talking about me as if I'm not here?"

"I'm just saying."

"Whatever."

The three left the house and climbed into Billy's car. As they drove to school, Avalon rested her head against the window, a deep frown on her face. "So am I the only one wondering what's gonna happen now that the powers are going over to Aisha and Adam?" She asked. "I mean, not only do we have to train her again, but do you think Rita and Zedd will send down even stronger monsters or what? We were barely able to put a scratch on them and that's _with_ Goldar having the Healiodore?"

"Actually, I'm more concerned with the kind of powers that the Healiodore consists of," Billy replied. He glanced over at her before refocusing his gaze on the road. "It was something that I had heard of only a few times before Goldar, Rita, and Zedd got to it. How _did_ they find it, how did they know what sort of power it had? And, more importantly, is it a power that can be interchangeable between evil and good."

"Like my morpher?" Bailey asked. "We knew that there was a possibility that anyone that grabbed it could turn it good or evil. I think it's a little too convenient that I was the one that got it."

"Maybe not."

Avalon lifted her head from the window and looked over at her best friend. "What d'you mean?"

Billy shrugged. He was silent for a moment, pressing his lips together. "I mean, what if she was destined to get those powers anyway? Even if it was in evil hands at first, much like Tommy's first Power Coin, it would've eventually been brought back to her." He scratched the back of his head. "We know that Av was directly exposed to whatever powers your father was working on at the time and as far as we know, Bay, that hasn't happened to you."

"I would've remembered if it did," Bailey agreed.

"So what if you were just destined to have it like the rest of us were? No one, not even Zordon and Alpha, _really_ know how The Power works. There must be something about all of us that has it where we can control the powers and that it protects us from everything that would harm a normal human."

"But we were living in Oz for most of our life, yeah? So what would've happened if we didn't come over here? Would we still take on the powers of the Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus?"

Billy let out a loud humming sound.

Avalon smirked at him.

Billy glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye. "Shut up."

"I just think it's funny that for once you don't have a scientific answer ready and rearing to go."

"Life's mysteries are at all times able to be deciphered at a later time."

Bailey leaned in from the back seat. "You should've seen that coming. No one can outsmart Billy."

"Yeah, well, at least I don't go berserk over every single homework assignment and project." Avalon rolled her eyes, slouching in her seat. After dropping Bailey off at the Middle School, Billy pulled up into a parking spot next to Jason's car, just as he and Zack were climbing out of Jason's truck. They climbed out of their cars and gathered their things together.

"Ah ah!" Zack hurried over to Avalon's side and grabbed her backpack out of her hands. "You're not to lift anything heavier than a bowling ball. Can't have you injure your shoulder anymore." He reached out and ruffled her hair, causing Avalon to scowl, pushing his hand away.

"I can do it myself," she protested. And then adding under her breath, "I can't hold a bowling ball anyway." Jason and Zack laughed before the black ranger turned and crouched low to the ground. "And I can walk, Zack, I don't need you to carry me around everywhere." Nevertheless she climbed onto his back, holding on around his neck carefully. Zack stood up straight and shifted Avalon's weight so that he wouldn't drop her as the four started into the building.

"Most girls would like to be pampered like that," Jason pointed out to her. "In fact, if he offered to carry Kim's bags when she went shopping, I'm sure the two wouldn't bicker as much as they normally do."

"No way!" Zack shook his head. "I'm not falling into that trap again."

"I have to admit Zack's right, Jase," Billy agreed. "The consequence of having to carry her bags and follow her around as she goes from shop to shop is something that is way down on my list of fun things to do."

"Hm," Avalon said. "Tommy must be getting some serious benefits then." She and Zack burst out laughing as Jason and Billy chuckled. The blue ranger cleared his throat before turning to address the red ranger, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Anyway, Jase, I wanted to apologize," he said. "For back in the Command Center." He dropped his hand down, it slapped against his thigh. "I guess I was just…I don't know, upset or something." He ignored Avalon's loud bark of laughter. "It wasn't fair…what I said to you. It really is none of my business and—"

"Ah, water under the bridge," Jason said with a wave of his hand. He chuckled at his own joke before his face turned serious. "It's not a big deal. I…I get what you were saying anyway. I don't like to show a lot of my emotions…I was raised not too. And, I guess, I was really shocked by the fact that these guys really aren't going to be rangers anymore and that they were being replaced so easily. I didn't know how to act." He reached out and placed a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Really, man. It's not anything I'm broken up over. I really needed to hear it." He removed his hand from Billy's shoulder and held out his hand. Billy grabbed onto it and the two came together in a man hug, grinning at each other as they entered the school.

"Hold it right there!" Zack immediately stopped in his tracks, allowing Avalon to carefully slide to the floor. Bulk and Skull stood in front of the four, looking them up and down and addressing notepads that were resting in their hands. "Don't you know it violates the school code of conduct to give piggy back rides in the hallways?" Bulk asked them.

"Yeah! Someone could poke an eye out!" Skull added, gesturing towards them with a pencil.

Jason reached out and pushed Skull's pencil away from the side of his neck. "Or my neck," he commented. He looked back and forth between Bulk and Skull as they stood before him in their security uniforms. "Don't you think you're taking this job a little too seriously? I mean, you're just holding security for a high school, I don't think there's anyone here that really poses a threat to anyone."

Avalon's face reddened and Zack grimaced, looking away from them.

"Hey! We're responsible for the safety of each and every person that comes through those doors and we're going to make sure that you all do stay safe!" Bulk cleared his throat, puffing out his chest. "Now Miss. Mitchell, if you don't mind, we'd like to accompany you to the administration office so you can be checked in."

Avalon sighed loudly, tilting her head back towards the ceiling. If any of the things she had done to keep her sister and her safe was any indication, anything was better than having to check into the school every morning. It was her own fault anyway, she could admit that. She just wished it hadn't caused such a fuss. If there was anything she could to prove to Lt. Stone that Summer and Skye had left tone, pure concrete proof, and then she didn't have to worry about it anymore. But as long as no one else was being affected by the decisions she chose to make before, she could deal with it.

"Alright, let's go," she said. "Having my bodyguards around should make it that I don't have to risk those wayward paper cuts." She took her backpack back from Zack and walked with the boys down the hallway towards the administrative offices. Her eyebrows rose as they continuously brought out their arms, pushing students out of their way. "OK, you don't have to do that. You're supposed to care about the well-beings of all of the students, not just me."

"Sorry ma'am, Lt. Stone gave us explicit instructions to make sure nothing happens to you and we'll make sure nothing happens to you," Bulk said, keeping up his bravado.

"Yeah! Come paper cut, rubber band bullet, paper football, or wayward pencil, we'll be here to protect ya!" Skull agreed and laugh his trademark laugh. Avalon smiled and continued on with them. The three reached the administrative office and she was surprised to find Trini there as well, finishing up a conversation with the receptionist. "Excuse us, miss, we have precious cargo coming through."

"Are you calling me a freighter?" Avalon demanded.

Trini laughed, turning to the orange ranger. "I think you're being a little too sensitive with what Bulk and Skull have to say," she said. "More often than not it has to do with some hair brain scheme that will bring them notoriety, figuring out the identity of the power rangers, or anything that will bring girls flocking to them." She smiled over at the two junior cadets in training that were talking to the receptionists. Skull was pointing at one with a dangerously sharp looking pencil in one hand and a badge in the other while Bulk moved through the folders in the filing cabinet behind them. "They'll probably be arrested themselves soon."

"I'd feel kinda bad then," Avalon admitted. "Considering I'm the one that got them the job after they found me." She shook her head. "But I really don't want to talk about that." She turned back to Trini with a slight tilt of her head. "What are you doing here? I'm sure your grades are as impeccable as ever."

Trini gave Avalon a sad smile and the orange ranger quickly understood what she had just said probably wasn't the best thing to bring up. Trini glanced down at the papers that were in her hands.

Her transcript.

She wasn't sure if she was going to be going to a new school, be homeschooled, or just stop attending all together. It hadn't been worked out yet; her parents were still making that decision for her. Just as they had made the decision on everything else other than her own choice to be going to Vietnam. What would it be like? Would she make any friends? Would she still hear news from Angel Grove? Would everyone stay in touch? It was all of those questions, wondering how much her life would change that were the problem.

"I was just getting some stuff," she said. She shifted her feet for a moment before peering at Avalon. "Has Billy gotten here?"

"He, Jay, and Zack are getting their stuff for class I reckon," Avalon replied, pointing over her shoulder. "If they're not too busy getting into some sort of trouble as they seem to do. At least when Jason and Zack are around each other."

Trini laughed. "I noticed," she said. "You should've seen what happened at the Youth Center one time. They were trying to see who could climb the rope faster and Jason fell on top of Bill. Sent the three of them flying across the Youth Center faster than you could blink." She let out a wistful sigh. "I'm going to miss things like that. And all of Angel Grove I suppose."

"Bet you won't miss the monster attacks."

"I'm sure I will. I don't think going from being so active to being…calm would be a shock to my system."

"Shouldn't be too bad, Sunny, you're already a lot calmer than the rest of us are." Avalon turned and grabbed the clipboard the receptionist was handing over to her. She signed off on it and dated it before handing it back to her. It was a bit of a hassle having to do her attendance at the beginning of the school day rather than in each and every one of her classes. Just to be sure she was accounted for in case something happened at the school as no one would know if she was gone.

"That's for sure," Trini agreed. She tapped her fingers against the paper in her hand. "So, can I ask you something?" The two girls started to slowly walk back towards their lockers. "More like a favor, actually."

"Sure."

Trini took a deep breath. "While I'm gone…would you mind looking after Billy for me?"

Avalon stopped in her tracks. "Look after him?" She repeated, her eyebrows flying up into her hairline. "I can barely look after myself, how can I look after him?"

Trini gave a half smile. "I don't mean looking out for his well-being like you do with Bay. I meant…make sure he relaxes and doesn't take things so seriously all the time. That he doesn't get so into the work he needs to put into at the Command Center or with the morphers or communicators or anything like that. See if he can have some fun for a while; get his mind constantly out of his next invention."

"And you think I can do that?"

"I think you're best suited for the job. You understand him just as well as I can."

"I barely know him, if you think about it."

Trini gave her a smile that Avalon couldn't quite place. There was something in her eyes that made it hard for her to see which was a bit unnerving. Normally Avalon could tell what anyone was thinking or doing, anticipating what they had planned before they could even do it. She even scared her sister with the times she had been able to anticipate the jokes she was going to play on her, knowing what she was going to ask before she even had to open her mouth, and understanding what she was trying to say when she couldn't get the words out right the first time. And yet…Trini she couldn't quite place. There was something about her that was different, something she hadn't encountered before and believed she never would again.

"Knowing someone to a certain degree has nothing to do with how well you can understand someone," Trini said. "You can understand and have more in common with a stranger than anyone else." Avalon's face screwed up in confusion and Trini moved towards her, placing her hand on her shoulder. "Please just do that favor for me?"

Avalon pressed her lips together and nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "Yeah. No worries. I-I can do that."

"Thanks." Trini squeezed her shoulder before the orange ranger let go of her arm. She gave her a meaningful smile that was also lost on the orange ranger. "We should get to class before we're late."

Avalon's expression of confusion deepened as she followed her friend to the classroom. "It's your last day here and you're not going to take the opportunity to skip the whole day?" She placed her hand on her hip, shaking her head. "I think I'm the only one out of this whole group that knows how to be a teenager."

"No!" Trini laughed. "I actually _like_ school. And I want to say goodbye to Ms. Appleby and all of my other teachers."

"That's what I like about you, Sunny," Avalon admitted. "You really know how to light up people's lives." She put her arm around Trini's waist and leaned into her before dropping it. "It just sucks that I didn't really take the time to get to know you better before you left."

"That's alright. We'll see each other again."

* * *

 

Jason let out his series of kiai's as he flew back and forth across the practice mats with Tommy in front of him. They traded punches and kicks, each letting out their personal kiai's as they went. Jason blocked a shot to the ribs by Tommy's foot and flung him to the ground before bending down and driving his fist into Tommy's chest.

"Ugh!" Tommy brought a hand up to his chest and looked up at the red ranger. The two smiled at each other before Jason grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. "Alright, you got me this time. Just don't think you'll be so lucky when we spar again."

"I won't think it then," Jason said. Once Tommy was on his feet, he slapped him on the back and the two went over to the bench to get their towels and water bottles. Straddling the bench, Jason stretched out his legs, dabbing the towel against his neck. He looked around the Youth Center at the decorations that Kimberly and Ernie were currently putting up. She was directing Ernie up a ladder to hang up crepe decorations and that was when she wasn't directing Zack and Billy to blow up balloons. She even had Bailey and Fred folding a bunch of napkins into different shape. "It's a good thing we had practice today or else we'd be stuck in your girlfriend's dictatorial ways."

"Even I'm not going to touch that one with a ten foot pole," Tommy agreed. "But it's nice that she's throwing Trini a going away party. She's been doing a good job at hiding out depressed she is."

"I know," Jason agreed. "I mean, Kim and Trini have been best friends for years and not only is she losing her best friend, but we've lost two rangers too." He bobbed his head back and forth, watching as Rocky, Adam, and Aisha walked through the doorway of the Youth Center and over to the table that was occupied with decorations and food, where Avalon, Billy, and Zack were finishing up their balloons. "I think these guys could do a good job, apparently they're very skilled in their ninjitsu practice, but we don't know how they're really going to fare when it comes to some of the tougher battles we've had."

"I mean, I worry about it too," Tommy agreed. "But we really don't have a choice. If we're going to keep facing Rita and Zedd, then Rocky, Adam, and Aisha are our only hopes for help."

"I guess you're right."

"And it's not like they're not going to get better with time. I mean, I don't think any of us was that good when we first started."

Jason gave Tommy a knowing look. "Pun intended?"

"Not really." Tommy cracked a smile. It was going to haunt him more than he wanted. Knowing his past of being an evil ranger. No matter how many times he won a fight, how much he proved he was a good ranger and knew how to lead a team, there was always that nagging feeling that it was going to come back and bite him. How much longer would it take for Rita and Zedd to find a way to make me evil again or something? Or take over Bailey's power morpher or something like that?"

"Probably not long if they ever thought about it," Jason admitted. He draped his towel across his neck. "But let's not think about that. We need to focus on other things right now. Like, saying goodbye to Trini." He let out a sad sigh. "It's gonna be so weird when she's gone."

"Yeah, but she'll be experiencing something that'll only come once in a lifetime," Tommy reminded him. "There are only so many times you get a chance to learn about your cultural background firsthand, right?" Jason nodded in agreement. He brought his water bottle up to his mouth and took a long drink out of it. "Has Kim asked who you're taking to the party?"

Jason choked, water shooting down his throat. "It's a going away party, who needs a date to that?" He held up a finger before the white ranger could reply. "Scratch that, this is Kim we're talking about. She'd want a date to go to the library." Tommy gave him a sheepish smile and he laughed, bringing a hand to his stomach as he did so. "You're totally whipped, man."

"Whatever, man, at least I'm the one that has a girlfriend," Tommy said. "You and Zack are always talking about how many babes you scope out at the beach and at the park and everything but I've never seen you actually _with_ one."

"I'm just keeping my options open."

"Or you're trying to hide the fact that you can't get one."

Jason elbowed the white ranger in the side and he laughed, throwing his towel back at him. "Whatever, man. You know you're starting to sound an awful lot like Zack, it's not even funny." He rolled his eyes and took another long sip of his water. "If it happens, it happens. I'm not going to rush anything."

"With who?" Tommy leaned in to get a good look at Jason's face, a slow smile stretching across his face. Looking at him out of the corner of his eye, Jason reached out and pushed the white ranger away from him. "I'm just trying to help, man." He raised his hands defensively. "Don't forget, I'm the one with the girlfriend, remember."

"Whipped!" Jason coughed into his hand.

"Hey you two, I need you help over here!" Kimberly called, cupping her hands around her mouth so they could hear her over the commotion of Zack's squeaking of a large balloon as he tried to tie a knot around it. "If you're done with your practice."

"We should've kept working, man." Jason got to his feet and walked over to his friends. He nodded at Rocky, Adam, and Aisha, noticing they had crepe paper in their hands. "Looks like Kim already got you set to work."

"Is she always that persuasive?" Rocky asked with a lopsided smile.

"Only when she wants to get her way," Zack said.

"I'm guessing that's a lot."

"You have no idea."

"No ever said that was a bad thing," Aisha defended the pink ranger. She had her hands shoved into the pockets of her yellow overalls. "It girls had more of a say in the world, maybe we wouldn't have so many wars all the time."

"You're right," Tommy agreed. "We'd be fighting over what we're supposed to wear every day." The guys laughed as Aisha rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

"You guys!" Kimberly planted her hands on her hips. "I just want to be sure that Trini's party is the best it can be."

"She'll be very appreciative of it, Kim, don't worry," Billy reassured her. He busied himself with tying a knot on the end of a yellow balloon, stretching the latex.

Kimberly looked up at Ernie, who was balancing on the top of a ladder, stretching out a banner. She placed a finger on her chin. "Do you think the banner needs to be moved over a little bit?"

"At the risk of Ernie's life, I think it's OK," Bailey said. She let out a screech of frustration, ripping up the napkin that was in her hands into pieces of confetti. "Gah! Why do we have to fold these into swans? Why can't we do paper balls or something?" She crumpled up the confetti and threw them into Fred's face. He laughed and threw it back at her.

"I don't know, I think having napkin swans gives this place some sort of a fancy theme," he said. Lifting a swan up in his hand, he gave it a funny laugh. "You know, Youth Center meets country club." Kimberly pouted as there was another round of laughter at her expense. "I'm only kidding Kim, if it weren't for you, I'd never realize my talent at paper folding."

"Yeah, yeah." Kimberly clasped her hands together and smiled as she looked around the Youth Center. "But doesn't this place look great? It'd be even better if we weren't sending her away."

"Whatever happened to that 'welcome back' party that I was supposed to be getting?" Avalon agreed. Gently leaning her elbow on a balloon she had just blown up, she made nimble work of the fingers on her left hand and tied a knot into the tail end. "A little birdie told me I was supposed to get one."

"Billy!" Kimberly slapped the blue ranger on the arm.

Now it was Billy's turn to grin sheepishly. "Considering she was going to come right out of the hospital and into the arms of a surprise party…I had to make sure she didn't accidentally murder someone."

Avalon patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you for that, Smurf. I owe you one."

"You owe me plenty, but who's counting?"

The two smiled at each other and went back to work on their balloons as Kimberly divvied out the rest of the duties that needed to be performed before everyone got back to work. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha had been tasked with going to the store to pick up the cake that Kimberly had specially ordered for the party.

Jason grabbed a chair and turned it around, resting his arms not he back as he sat down. "So did Kim mention to you guys that we're supposed to have a date to this thing?" He ignored the knowing look Tommy and Zack gave each other.

"This is the first I'm hearing about it," Avalon remarked, keeping her eyes on her next balloon. She rested her elbow on it to tie it but added too much pressure, causing it to pop. "Oh, bollocks!"

"Yeah," Bailey agreed. "I don't have a date either."

Avalon gave the purple ranger the side-eye. "Yes you do! He's sitting right next to you!" She pointed out.

Bailey's face turned a bright red as she glanced at Fred, who had the biggest grin on his face. "I didn't ask him yet," she murmured.

"Oh, don't worry Bay." Fred put his arm around her shoulders. "I'm already here, why not?" Bailey pushed his hand off her shoulder and he laughed, turning back to the stack of napkins that sat in front of him.

Billy looked up from his balloon, stretching out the tail end before bringing it close to his mouth. "Is there something you're undertaking to inquire but aren't particularly articulating?" Jason's eyebrows lowered, Zack tilted his head to the side, and Tommy made a sound, scratching the back of his neck.

"He asked if there's something that you're trying to ask her but aren't exactly asking her," Bailey translated.

Avalon dropped her hands to her lap. "No," she said simply. "I'm not going to this party with you as a date."

Jason looked amused. If he was put off by her sudden rejection, he didn't show it. "Why not, Avie?"

"Don't 'Avie' me, Jay, I just want to point out that, so far, we haven't had much luck going places together."

"Which is your fault, if you want me to point it out."

"And I'm not going to risk it again." Avalon took the balloon Billy finished and placed it on the ground in the pile the two and Zack had created. "God knows this time something is either going to blow up or I'm going to get run over by a car. I'm actually starting to think I'm a jinx or something."

"Or something."

"Bite me!

"You should go, Av," Tommy said. "Lightning can't strike three times in the same place." The rangers and Fred all looked up at the sky, anticipating a lightning bolt to come crashing down through the ceiling and strike them all dead in that moment. "At least, we hope."

Avalon gave a fake smile. "Cheers, mate." Her eyes then shifted over to the red ranger once more, narrowing slightly. "Ah, well, considering there's no way anything could _possibly_ go wrong. Why not?"

Jason leaned back in his seat, holding onto the back with his hands so that he didn't completely fall over. "Well, geez, Avie. Don't think you're doing me any favors."

"I'm not, Jay, I'm just trying to be nice," Avalon replied. "Especially considering we don't know when that bolt of lightning is finally going to come down." She pushed herself further away from the table, crossing her legs at the knee.

The group burst out laughing as Jason stood up from his head. "Well, I have to get back and take a shower. But I'll see you guys back here." He picked up his gym bag and waved to his friends before giving a wave and leaving the Youth Center. He went to his car and got in, driving to his house.

As soon as he stepped in through the front door, he knew something was wrong. His father and mother were never there that early in the afternoon. Normally, they were in traffic on the way back to the house, one of them would be late, or both of them would be back late. But they were sitting in the living room, talking quietly with each other, having only looked up when Jason closed the door behind him.

"What's going on?" He dropped his bag off his shoulder and onto the ground. He walked quickly over to his mother and father. "Is someone hurt? What happened?"

"Jase, calm down." Caine stood up from the couch, holding out his hands. "Calm down. Both of us are fine. There's just something we have to talk to you about." Marissa reached out a hand and placed it on her husband's arm, guiding him back down to the couch.

"It's really, very important, Jason," she added, addressing her son herself.

Jason slowly sat down in the armchair that sat across from the couch. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs. His knees started to rapidly bob up and down as he brought his hands together, lacing the fingers together. His breath started to become shallow in his throat, waiting to hear what the news was.

"What's up?" He asked them.

"You remember how we were so worried about you taking steroids?" Melissa started.

Jason sat up straight, his lower jaw dropping. "I swear, I haven't been taking anymore of the stuff," he said. "I even gave it back to you, remember? I haven't—"

"Jason!" Caine now held up his hands, cutting him off. Jason closed his mouth, studying his father. His eyes were red and he could see the tear tracks that had fallen down his cheeks earlier. Even then, he was taking in deep breaths to calm himself down. "Something happened. You know how we warned you that your habit could become addictive? Well, we just got the news….your uncle overdosed. I don't know on what, but…he overdosed and he's in the hospital."

Jason brought his hands up to cover his mouth as the words crashed upon him. They hit him full force, but it took a minute for the words to sink in. Overdose. He had overdosed. Something he could have easily fallen into if he hadn't stopped so early. If his friends and family didn't care about him so much, if they hadn't noticed what he was doing and how different he was acting…he could've fallen so deep into drugs. He could've ended up dying.

"Is he alright?" He finally asked.

"They expect him to make a recovery, but he's not going to be the same person he used to be," Caine replied. He wiped at his eyes once more. "I just got off the phone with my mother…she and my father can't get out to him, you know how flying isn't great for them and driving that distance they can't do either." He cleared his throat, turning his gaze to the floor. "And…we're going to be going out to help him."

Jason blinked rapidly. Those words he heard clearly. "We're moving from Angel Grove?" He asked. His eyes shifted for a moment. "How long?"

"We don't know, honey," Marissa replied. "We just think its best if we go out there and show that we're there to support him. He doesn't have anyone to take care of him. And we can't leave him in the hospital or in the care of someone we don't know. He won't be happy and we won't know how he's going to be treated."

Jason nodded. He understood that. There had been so many reports of mistreatment in assisted living that he could understand his parents' hesitation when it came to having his Uncle stay in the hospital. Especially when it came to the withdrawals he was inevitably going to go through as well as the rehab.

 _How long have I been kept in the dark about this?_ Jason asked himself, before zeroing in on the next words that were spoken to him.

"Sweetie, I know it'll be hard for you," Marissa continued. "Leaving your friends. But I think it'd be best if you came with us…so that he'd know that all of his family is supporting him to get better." She exchanged a look with Caine.

"We're not forcing you to go," Caine continued. "You can stay if you want to stay. We thought we'd give you the option to come along or not."

Jason nodded.

He ran his hands over his face.

_What am I going to do?_

And in that moment, he knew exactly how Trini felt.

The party was even better than any of the rangers had thought. Trini had been surprised when Kimberly had walked her into the Youth Center to have all of her friends and classmates cheer her to send her off. She had actually screamed in surprise when she spotted everyone, before wrapping her arms around Kimberly in a tight hug. Billy, Jason, Avalon, Bailey, Zack, and Tommy crowded around her, bringing her into a group hug before going off to indulge in the food and dancing that was being offered to them all. The party didn't stop for hours with people coming and going, the atmosphere as high energy as it could be to keep the idea that she was leaving from hitting them.

When Trini finally managed to escape Zack's grasp from the dance floor, she collapsed at a nearby table, taking the drink that Avalon had handed her, before she was swept off to the floor by the red ranger, dragging her heels and protesting as she went. Trini smiled as she watched Avalon get dragged away before her eyes moved over to Tommy and Kimberly, who were dancing close together not a care in the world.

She then looked over at Billy, who had just finished a conversation with Ernie, leaning against the countertop, a drink up to his mouth. She caught his eye and gave him a small smile and a wave. He waved back; his smile didn't reach his eyes.

She knew why.

As soon as the party was done, she was gone.

* * *

 

"Hey girl," Aisha greeted the yellow ranger, sitting next to her.

"Hi." Trini smiled at her. "How're you doing?"

"The party's really good," Aisha said. "Kimberly really knows how to throw a bash! I don't think I've ever seen this many people at the beach at one time."

Trini pressed her chin into her hand, giving the small girl a warm smile. "I mean with this whole power ranger thing. I expect things to be a bit…confusing. Overwhelming, maybe."

Aisha leaned back in her seat. "Yeah," she said quietly. "This whole thing…it's so much bigger than us. I didn't ever it get until I faced off with Goldar and Scorpina the first time." She shook her head. "It was so cool…but so scary at the same time. I couldn't think of anything other than what would happen if they managed to break into the cockpit."

"You did a great job," Trini reassured her. She reached out and grabbed onto Aisha's hand, squeezing it firmly. "Alpha and Zordon did a great job and choosing my successor and if I had to handpick someone to replace me, I hope it'd be you."

Aisha curled her hand around Trini's. "What if I mess up?"

"We all run that risk. We've all have times where we thought we could handle things ourselves but turned out that we needed to learn how to work on a team. We all learned to face our fears and have had some setbacks along the way." Trini looked right into Aisha's eyes. "It's something that'll come easier with time. You can do it." She leaned in and gave Aisha a comforting hug.

Aisha gripped back like a baby koala to its mother. She needed that comfort at the moment. To know that everything was going to be OK.

Getting it from the girl she was going to replace, as awkward as it was, was all she could ever want.

"You know what?" Trini pulled back from Aisha. "I have an idea."

She got up from her seat, still holding onto Aisha's hand and collected the rangers. After Bailey giving Fred some sort of excuse that would keep him at the Youth Center, the rangers all teleported to the Command Center. Zordon and Alpha weren't surprised to see them; Trini had talked it over with them as soon as she had the idea.

"I just wanted to say," Trini started, gazing at everyone in front of her. "That I never thought I'd be something like a ranger. I wanted to help people as much as I could, but going out and fighting monsters…" she shook her head. "That never crossed my mind."

The rangers laughed.

"But having had this experience…getting to know all of the friends I know now, meeting _new_ friends"—she smiled at Aisha—"I wouldn't trade it for the world. So even though I'm leaving, I was glad to have had this experience. And thank you, Alpha and Zordon, for believing in what I could do."

"You're welcome, Trini." Alpha walked over to Trini and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too, Alpha." Trini hugged him back, wiping away a tear. "I'm going to miss all of you guys." She turned to address the rangers.

Jason cleared his throat. "I don't think I can top that," he said. "But..I need to say…I'm going to be leaving too."

"What?" Bailey practically whispered.

"Yeah," Jason said. "My uncle…he's really sick and we're going out to help him. I was given the chance to stay but…I don't think I can do that. It's not right for me. He's gone through some things that I could've gone through if you guys and my parents didn't help. I think it's the right thing to do." He stepped back to join Trini, his eyes moving over his friends.

"I'm leaving too," Zack finally announced. Avalon looked away from him, turning her gaze to her feet. Kimberly brought her hands up over her mouth, turning to Tommy with wide eyes. Adam and Rocky made cries of shock and surprise. "My family's moving. It was a quick decision." Avalon closed her eyes. She knew he wouldn't give the real reason for leaving; it would cause too much trouble.

She wondered what his parents were going to say to anyone else that asked them why they were leaving. What would be their excuse for leaving? What would be their cover?

More importantly, did they know it was her fault?

Zack looked over at Alpha and Zordon. "I hope your tears don't cause you to short circuit, buddy." He reached out, patting him on the shoulder before receiving his hug as well.

"I don't believe this." Kimberly ran her hands through her hair. "I thought we were just losing you guys as rangers. Not…"

"I didn't want to take the attention away from Trini," Jason explained. "If I had known beforehand, I would've said something." Tommy nodded, putting one of his arms around Kimberly and the other around Bailey, who had started to silently cry. He looked at Rocky. "I am honored that you're taking my place," he said. "I believe you have what it takes to be the new red ranger."

"Thanks," Rocky choked out. He swallowed thickly, staring at the rangers in front of him. He was only to be an alternate before and now, all of a sudden, he _was_ the new red ranger. He didn't think he could handle it. One look over at Zack and it showed he was thinking the same.

"We're really going to miss you guys," Billy said. His arms were crossed over his chest; lips pressed firmly together, eyes staring straight ahead. "Things won't be the same without you." He took in a shuddering breath.

Trini slowly smiled, her eyes gazing into his. She nodded. "We're going to miss all of you," Trini said. She turned to face Zordon who watched the conversation quietly. "Thanks for believing in us, Zordon."

"Trini, Zack, and Jason," he said formally. "In your hearts you will forever carry the spirit of the power rangers." Jason nodded. "But your destinies lie elsewhere." Zack clasped his hands together behind his back, looking at his feet. "You have exhibited the reasons why The Power has chosen you in your selfless acts that have paved a new path for you. You have to help the world in a different way now. The Power Rangers will endure."

Alpha stepped back a few paces from the three rangers, standing between them and Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. "Please take out your power morphers," he instructed. He handed Zack his old one as Trini, Jason, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha did as they were told. They held them out in the palms of their hands, the Power Coins facing the ceiling of the Command Center. "Tommy, please hold out your hands and retrieve the sword of light."

Tommy did as he was told, releasing the pink and purple rangers. "The sword of light?" He repeated.

Avalon stepped up to Tommy's side, her eyes moving over the blade. "Where'd this come from?" She asked, taking in the colorful jewels encrusted in the hilt. "How come we haven't heard of it before?" She looked up at Zordon.

"The sword of light was created along with the powers that created the white power ranger," Zordon explained. "It is to be used in dire situations as well as to help transfer the powers."

Billy's eyebrows lowered.

"The sword of light will allow your powers to be transferred to the three new rangers that stand before you," Zordon reiterated. He nodded at the white ranger. "Tommy, hold the sword of light high above your head." He did as he was told, slowly thrusting the sword up above him. "We will now start the ceremony that will transfer the powers from Trini, Zack, and Jason to Aisha, Adam, and Rocky. Please raise the sword."

A lightning bolt shined down from the posts standing besides Zordon's tube and struck the sword. When the bolt bounced off the swords, it struck Jason, Zack, and Trini, bathing them in the image of their suits, before it transferred over to Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. Once the light faded, the three new rangers were in their suits. They powered down, the morphers hanging off the fronts of their belts.

"You three are now the new power rangers. May the Power protect you."

Alpha made a hiccupping sound. "Trini, Jason, Zack, you have done so much in your time of being the rangers and I will miss you as I'm sure everyone will."

They nodded before the eight original rangers came together to give each other parting hugs. "Told you I was a jinx," Avalon murmured into Jason's shoulder as she hugged him with her one good arm. "If I knew this would happen—"

"Don't even say that," Jason said, hugging her back. "No one could've anticipated what was going to happen." He grinned at her. "Besides, I haven't been this entertained for a while."

Avalon punched him on the arm and Jason laughed, backing away from her.

"I'm gonna miss you sooooo much." Kimberly squeezed Trini as tightly as she could. "You better call me every day or else I'm going to think you don't like me anymore."

"I will, Kim. I promise." Trini said, hugging her back.

"Have a good flight," Billy murmured. Trini let go of the pink ranger and turned to her now ex-boyfriend. "Tell me everything." He slowly nodded. "Please stay in touch." Trini gave a watery smile and wrapped her arms around him. Billy gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her back just as tightly. "I'll miss you."

"Me too," Trini said. She pulled back from Billy and looked like she wanted to say something else, but couldn't find the words. Instead, she stepped back to say goodbye to the rest of the rangers. "You're going to do fine, Aisha," she said to the yellow ranger, tightly holding her hands with her own.

Aisha smiled and nodded.

Trini backed away and held out her hand. Her friends smiled and one by one their placed their hands on top of hers. "Once a ranger, always a ranger," Bailey said tearfully.

Jason, Zack, and Trini nodded at each other.

Tommy counted down and the rangers threw their hands into the air with a cry of, "Power Rangers!"

* * *

 

Avalon was awakened to a crashing sound and bolted upright in bed. She glanced over at Bailey, who instinctively curled herself up in her blanket, before whipping back her covers and leaping out. Reaching over, she grabbed onto a baseball bat that rested in the corner of the room and slowly crept over to the door. She opened it and slowly poked her head out, looking up and down the hallway. Billy's bedroom door was closed as well as his parents' bedroom door.

She had a shuffling sound again and, tightening her grip on the baseball bat moved down the stairs and into the kitchen. She could hear the sound, once more, coming from the garage and moved closer to the door. It was as she had feared; Summer and Skye had come back to get revenge on her. She should've seen it coming sooner rather than thinking they weren't going to do anything.

She could handle it.

She had done it before.

Avalon continued to the garage door and moved out her hand. She quietly grabbed onto the knob and turned it in her hand so slowly that it didn't make a sound as it unlatched from the door frame. After a silent count to three she pushed the door open and brought the baseball bat up over her head.

"Then the electromagnetic waves should convene with the morphing grid," Billy muttered to himself, sitting at the computer. All of a sudden he slammed his hands down on the keyboard and stood up, knocking his chair to the ground with a loud clatter, starting to pace back and forth.

"Fuck, Billy!" Avalon snapped. "I almost beat your into ground beef. And I don't know about you, but I don't plan on becoming a vegetarian anytime soon." Billy didn't seem to have heard her. He continued to pace back and forth, muttering to himself. "Billy?"

"What?" he practically spat at her.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm working on a project," he said absentmindedly, running his hand over his hair. "I can't believe it's not working. Everything I do works. Theoretically it should be correlating but it's not." Avalon recognized the look. Kimberly had explained to her when they had been paired up on a project together, that Billy could get so into his work that he would become angry in a 'mad scientist way' when something didn't work out for him the first time he tried.

If it wasn't his flaw of being a perfectionist, Kimberly explained, it was that he didn't like to be wrong. He enjoyed solving mysteries—much like with their powers—but couldn't stand to be wrong.

Billy kicked at a stool, sending it rocketing into his lab table jostling glass beakers. Avalon winced, waiting for them to crash to the ground. But they only rattled, clinking together loudly. She slowly lowered the baseball bat to the floor.

"Billy." He continued to pace back and forth, muttering to himself. Avalon crossed the garage and grabbed onto his arm. "Billy."

Billy looked down at her, his eyes finally focusing. Her face softened as she waited for him to react.

_"While I'm gone…would you mind looking after Billy for me?"_

Billy lowered his gaze as silent tears starting to fall down his cheeks. He brought his hands up to wipe them away but they continued to fall one right after the other. Avalon stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the blue ranger. He immediately brought his arms up and wrapped them around her shoulders as he started to cry.

It was a new beginning for Jason, Zack, and Trini.

But for the rest of the rangers it was a time for adjustment.

A time for change.

To see what the new rangers were capable of.

And to be able to do that, first they had to say goodbye to the past and look towards the future.


	30. The Start Of Something New

**Chapter 30**

_The Start of Something New_

* * *

 

"I still can't believe she's gone," Kimberly murmured, resting her chin in her hand. Her mother, who sat at the dinner table across from her daughter, let out a quiet sigh.

She reached out and held onto her wrist, gently rubbing her thumb back and forth across the smooth skin of her daughter's hand. Kimberly curled her fingers around her mother's, gently grasping onto it, as if she was her lifeline, the only thing keeping her in Angel Grove.

"I mean, is it bad that I wish she as back here?" Kimberly kicked her feet back and forth, the tips of her sneakers gently scuffing the ground. "She didn't really _want_ to go to Vietnam."

"Do you know that for sure?" Mrs. Hart pressed.

Kimberly regarded her mother with surprise. "Mom, she was going to be leaving her friends, Angel Grove, everything she had known about living here."

"I understand that, Kimberly, but did she want to go?" Mrs. Hart waited a long moment as Kimberly stayed silent. She shrugged, stabbing at her bowl of cereal with her spoon, her kicking feet slowing. "Honey, Trini wouldn't have made a conscious decision like this _only_ for her parents. Don't forget, I've been watching you and Trini since you were both little girls, you're at each other's houses all the time so, in a way, I've gotten to know her like a daughter. It's not the way she acts."

"I guess," Kimberly begrudgingly agreed. Still that didn't really answer the question of why Trini had _wanted_ to leave.

Was she tired of being a ranger?

Was she tired of the responsibility, of the secrets?

She was sure everyone was.

 _She_ was.

She wanted to tell her mother that her communicator wasn't a new kind of wrist watch and that she was running off at all hours of the days because she was fighting monsters, not because there were sales going on all over the place. She wanted to come clean and tell her everything that had been going on…but she couldn't. She would probably lose her powers like Zack had and she wasn't sure if she could handle that. Jason, Zack, and Trini, they were brave in a way. They willingly gave up everything they had known for the past couple of years because they were thinking ahead, not in the present.

She wished she could think that way. She hadn't practiced gymnastics, _really_ practiced it in a long time. She was starting to miss the days where she would fall on her hands and knees and wince at the fresh scrape she would receive before climbing back up onto the beam or onto her feet and start the routine over and over again until she had it down perfect.

Instead, she was going to be running around, protecting everyone in Angel Grove with three kids they didn't know from a sack of potatoes. _Wow._ Kimberly brought both of her hands up to her chin and let out a sigh so big it moved her fringe from her forehead. _That sounded really bitter. And…I'm not really giving Rocky, Adam, and Aisha a chance. They're the new rangers now, we have to trust them. I didn't really trust Av when you first met her…when she was part of the team, but she's great now._

Kimberly suddenly noticed there was nothing but silence around her and looked up to see her mother calmly sipping coffee out of her mug. The pink ranger moved her shoulder length hair behind her shoulders then leaned forward and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Kim." Mrs. Hart gave her daughter a warm smile. "Are you going to be home after school?"

"I might," Kimberly said. She reached out and grabbed her blue backpack as it rested on the back of her chair. "I don't know yet. I might work on my routine. I haven't practiced in so long, I've been so busy." Tucking her hair behind her ear, she did her best for her mother not to see her eyes as she said so. What would she see if she looked into them?

Fear? Anger? Stress? Anxiety? Darkness, maybe?

How many teenagers could watch as monsters destroyed buildings, hurt people, and even _kill_ some people without having some sort of lasting effect? She had nightmares more often than not, dreams where she was fighting as a power ranger and demorphing before ultimately being destroyed while begging for her life. In those dreams she had become so weak, she could feel everything swaying around her, the world tilted back and forth and then she would be on her knees, raising her hands above her as Goldar, Rita, and Zedd laughing their haunting laughter, slowly converging in on her.

The longer she had those dreams, the more elaborate they became. To the point where, sometimes, she didn't want to sleep and would have to call Trini and Tommy, and even Jason on occasion, to talk to her until she fell asleep again.

Was she the only one that was having this sort of trouble?

A car honking caught her attention and happy butterflies fluttered through her stomach. The same way they always did when she saw her boyfriend, the guy she loved. Loved. It was still such a strange feeling to her. To know that she wanted no other person, except maybe the hottest movie start at the time, was something she never thought she would find. Especially with her parents being her role models for relationships. They weren't right for each other; they all knew that, but it still hurt when her father had left and he still didn't directly contact her much.

Yet, when they would have their moments of spending the day together, it was like nothing had gone wrong. It was so weird. Maybe that was the problem, that they didn't' address their problems.

The car horn honked again and Kimberly let out a sound of worry. She picked up her gym bag from the floor and waved to her mother before hurrying out the front door. She closed the door behind her, calling goodbye to her mother as she went. Waving to Tommy, who sat in his jeep in the driveway, she quickly went over to the back and dumped her bags inside before climbing into the front seat.

"Hey!" She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "How are you doing today?"

"Can't complain so far," Tommy replied, waiting for her to buckle up before backing out of the driveway. "But we're going to school, so who knows what the day has to offer."

"You're not forgetting your homework are you?" Kimberly pressed as he headed off to school. Tommy thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Any projects that are due?"

"Kim, we're getting our new schedules today," Tommy reminded her.

"I know, but your memory isn't that great. I mean, I can even count how many times you've stood me up for a date." Leaning her head back against the headrest she smiled sweetly at the white ranger, who had grimaced. Admittedly, she _had_ felt bad when Tommy had forgotten about their dates, but he had done a great job at making it up to her afterwards. She only wished it wasn't something she worried about each time they made plans. He was getting better, though his homework and school projects as well as his lateness to class seemed to be something he couldn't get over.

Then she thought about what he had said. "Oh yeah! We _are_ getting new schedules. Today, you know, I can't wait for art class. I heard that you can work in whatever medium you want. It should be a lot of fun." Her face then fell, the light lowering from her eyes. "Trini had signed up for that class, too."

Tommy took his right hand off the steering wheel and gripped the pink ranger's delicate hand in his own. "We all miss them," he said. "It's only been the weekend since they left, but it still hurts."

"I could barely think when Jason and Zack announced they were leaving," Kim admitted. "It was like…"

"You got the wind knocked out of you?" Tommy broke in. Kimberly nodded. "Yeah, I felt the same way. But…I had to be brave about it. We can't talk them out of what they want to do in life. It was their decision, and like Jason said, they didn't want to take away from the party that you set up for her."

"But moving?" Kimberly twisted her mouth to the side. "Don't you think our parents would've said something if the Taylors were even thinking about it? I mean, our parents are friends, too! They threw all of our birthday parties; they welcomed your parents to the city with a house warming party. They wanted to help Av and Bay as soon as they heard what was wrong." Tommy squirmed in his seat, pressing his lips together. The movement wasn't lost on Kim. She knew him that well. "What?"

Tommy looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "What?" he repeated.

"Is there something you know that I don't?"

"You mean apart from everything?"

Kimberly reached over and smacked her boyfriend on the arm, causing him to swerve a little bit. She let out a startled shriek of surprise as a car passing on the opposite of the road honked at them. Kimberly and Tommy burst out laughing as he corrected himself and made sure to drive carefully.

" _Is_ there something that I should know that you don't?" Tommy then asked.

Kimberly thought about it. Now it was her turn to press her lips together, thinking about what Avalon had told her in the park the day the orange and purple rangers were helping her plant some flowers. It wasn't anything any of them had to worry about now, but when she had been told it threw her for a loop as well as made a lot of things makes or sense than before.

"I didn't say that," Kimberly protested.

There was a moment of silence. "Is there something _you_ know that I don't?" Tommy pressed. Kimberly twisted her hands together. "Kim, what is it?"

"Nothing!"

"Kim, we can tell each other everything, what's going on?"

"What's going on with _you_?"

"Nothing."

"Then nothing's going on with me either." Kimberly crossed her legs at the knee. She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips for a moment. "I just…" she ran her hands through her hair. "I know that we can't bring Trini, Jase, and Zack back but…Rocky, Adam, and Aisha…I don't know if they'd be able to handle everything we do. They've only faced one monster, two if you count that Scorpina and Goldar were both fighting, but it's not what we normally do. If they started against putties, maybe things would be different."

"Kim, we can't tell what was going to happen, we can't dictate who their first fights are. We can only put our faith in them and hope they can handle it," Tommy said. He took her hand again. "I miss them too, and it's going to be hard to look over at the red ranger and understand that it's not Jase there anymore. But we can't stop our lives because of it. It doesn't mean we have to forget about them, we can still call and write letters and stay in touch. Just because they left doesn't mean our friendship has to end."

"I guess you're right," Kimberly agreed. "Once a ranger, always a ranger, right?"

"Right."

Tommy brought up Kimberly's hand and kissed the back of it, causing her to smile. The two pulled into the parking lot of the school and parked the car. Kimberly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek to thank him for the ride then took her bags out of the back of the car. The two walked into the school and found Avalon at the administration desk, signing in with Bulk and Skull flanking her sides as what was to be her normal routine.

"Hey Av," Kimberly greeted the orange ranger.

"Hey." Avalon stepped back from the front desk and dropped the pen onto the counter before pulling her backpack strap up over her shoulder and dropped the pen. She then turned to Bulk and Skull and gave them a little wave. "I'll see you later guys. Hope you don't get too caught up with jaywalkers and students cutting class."

"Whatever Lt. Stone wants us to do, we'll be sure to uphold the name that the Angel Grove police department has bestowed upon themselves," Bulk said, giving a salute. Beside him, Skull nodded like a bobble head.

"See ya." Avalon fell in step with Tommy and Kimberly as they walked away from the administration area. She reached into her backpack and pulled out four sheets of paper. "By the way, I got our schedules." She handed two sheets of paper over to the two of them. "Here are yours."

"Thanks!" Kimberly looked hers over and smiled. The same core classes that were expected of her to take as she continue to go up in class levels, and then there was her gardening club put in after lunch and her art class put in as well. She leaned over and glanced at Tommy's schedule to see what he was taking. "You're doing auto shop too?"

"Yeah, it seemed like something that would be fun," Tommy said. "And, hey, then I don't have to worry about my Dad constantly threatening me with getting a job to pay him back for all of the work he's been doing on my car."

"Speaking of jobs, if anyone finds one, let me know," Avalon said. She glanced over her own schedule. "I'm in need of some money myself." All of a sudden she stopped in her tracks. "Hey! Who signed me up for music class?" She swiveled her head to the pink ranger and stared hard at her. "I'm sure you have something to do with this."

"But you have such a great voice, Av! I think you need to have other people hear it more often," Kimberly protested.

"You sing?" Tommy asked her.

"No," Avalon said quickly.

"Yes, she does, I heard her. She just has stage fright." Kimberly put her arm around Avalon's shoulders and gave her a sweet smile. "But you'll get over that with the class. C'mon, at least try it out for a couple of weeks. I'm sure you can drop it after if you really don't want it."

"Fine."

Kimberly clasped her hands together in excitement. All of a sudden there was a strong gust of wind and papers started to blow down the hallways, knocking students aside and blowing papers off of the bulletin boards that lined the hallways. "Oops."

"Yeah, you're going to have to get that under control," Avalon said, smoothing down her hair.

Kimberly stuck her tongue out at her as the three turned the corner and headed to their lockers. Billy was standing at his locker, seeming to absentmindedly stare inside while he juggled a metal contraption in his hands. She let out a quiet sigh as they approached him.

"He's not doing too well is he?" Tommy asked the orange ranger, who shrugged.

"As can be expected," She said. "He lost his first girlfriend and working with emotions isn't something he normally does, from what he's told me." She scratched the back of her neck. "He spent a lot of the weekend in the Command Center. He'll come good. It'll just take some time. Before we know it he'll be annoying us with his constant techno babble again. Working on his experiments and stuff makes him happy, so..."

Kimberly nodded before picking up her pace and going over to the blue ranger. "Hi, Billy!" She greeted him cheerfully.

"Hey Kim." He looked up from the contraption in his hands and flashed her a smile before placing it into his locker. "How was your weekend?"

"Not bad," he replied. "I managed to completely repair the water damage that the last horoscope monster did to our zords. As well as upped the capacity on our blade blasters and other weapons in case Scorpina and Goldar come along again."

"Thanks man, that was smart thinking," Tommy said. He placed his hand on Billy's shoulder and squeezed it firmly.

Billy gave a modest shrug. "It needed to be done and I had the time for it." A glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. "I think I'm making a breakthrough on our weapons though, being able to adapt them for each of the rest of the monsters and whatever else Rita and Zedd can through our way."

"Told you he was doing better," Avalon remarked, gazing up at him.

Billy bobbed his head back and forth. "Look, I know that having Jason, Zack, and Trini leaving has really shaken us. But we have to think about moving forward now. Rita and Zedd are going to try even harder to get rid of us now." He raised a hand before slapping it down against his thigh. "And I know you guys are worried about me. But Trini and I are still friends and we promised we'd keep in touch, I'm fine."

Kimberly twisted her mouth to the side and looked right into the blue ranger's eyes. Along with being super smart, he was one of the most loyal, caring, and sensitive friends she had ever known. He had come a long way from the 'geeky nerd loser' that Bulk and Skull had named him, working diligently on his martial arts training so that he could keep up with the rest of the rangers as the monsters got tougher. He created inventions no one could ever dream of and was modest about each and every one, often blushing when someone praised him over it.

He was never one that was able to hide his feelings and now she could see he was being sincere. He was feeling better, would stay friends with Trini, and would always be friends with her.

"Well, that's good to hear," Kimberly said. She leaned in and gave him an excited squeeze, causing Billy to laugh and hug her back. "Now we can all—"

"I don't believe this," Avalon murmured, grabbing their attention. The rangers turned and followed her gaze down the hall where Rocky, Adam, and Aisha were coming towards them. They all looked nervous, looking at each other and different classrooms that they passed. "First they take over our friends' places on the team and now they're coming to our school?"

"Don't you think it's better for them to stay close as opposed to being all the way in Stone Canyon?" Tommy pointed out. "It'd be easier for them to come along when we're called for help."

"Proximity is always a good thing, Ava," Billy said. He gently touched her arm. "Especially in matters like this.

"I guess," she said begrudgingly. Her eyes narrowed when Rocky, Adam, and Aisha finally reached their group but didn't say anything more. She leaned against the lockers next to her, slightly hiding herself behind him. As if wanting to keep herself from lashing out even further.

"Hi guys," Tommy said to them. "Looks like you got to the high school just fine."

"I guess," Rocky agreed. "Being in a new city like this…it's like Stone Canyon but different, you know?" Aisha gave him a funny look as she asked, "how is it the same but different?" Rocky shrugged, appearing embarrassed. "I don't know, it just is. I bet the food here is better, anyway."

"That's just like you, Rocko, always thinking with your stomach."

Kimberly's stomach growled all of a sudden. Her cheeks flushed as Billy gave her an amused glance. Had she eaten breakfast that day? She didn't remember, probably not. It had been hard to eat that whole weekend when she was too busy thinking about the next time she would be able to talk to her friends.

"How are the classes here?" Adam asked the rangers. He straightened the black books he held against his side. "Are the teachers hard?"

"No, all the teachers here are very nice," Kimberly spoke up. Tommy and Billy were right. These guys seemed nice enough and they had just left Stone Canyon and moved to Angel Grove so that they could stick close to the rangers. It was hard enough that they were new on that front, but having to pick up and start over again at a new school couldn't be easy. She glanced over at Avalon, who continued to glare. Things had to have been hard for her, yet she never talked about it. She had met the rangers a couple of months after having started to attend Angel Grove high and before then she kept to herself before she started to hang out with Bulk and Skull. "You'll love Ms. Appleby; she's a well versed teacher, teaching multiple subjects."

"You just want to watch out for getting on Mr. Caplan's bad side," Billy added. "If he threatens you with a detention, he really means it."

"Yeah but,"—Adam's eyes shifted before he lowered his voice—"what if you get a detention when a monster attacks?"

"Then you have to find a way to get out of it," Tommy said. "A lot of the time monster fights come at the worst times for us. Rita and Zedd are always watching us so it happens all the time." He shrugged. "You just have to roll with the punches."

"So…did putties really attack you at school before?" Rocky asked. He tilted his head to the side. "We heard on the news about some strange stuff going on here."

"Angel Grove and strange are pretty synonymous at this point," Billy said, causing the rangers but Avalon to laugh. Billy must've noticed for he turned and looked at her. "Do you have anything to say?"

Avalon looked back at him for a moment before thinking about it. "My advice?" Avalon's eyebrows rose as she was spoken to. She stood up straight. "Stay out of my way and things'll be fine." She turned on her heel and walked off down the hallway to her first class.

"Is…everything alright?" Aisha's smile faded a little bit.

"Look, we understand how hard it is for you guys," Adam said. The black ranger shifted his feet as the red and yellow rangers nodded. "You just lost some of your best friends and now here we are…"

"We don't want to try and replace them," Aisha added, quickly waving her hand. She clutched her books to her chest. "We just want to live up to the name of being a power ranger and help out any way that we can."

"The Power chose you for a reason," Tommy reminded them. "Even when you didn't have the power you faced Sagittaria and helped us out when he was attacking everyone at the carnival. That showed true bravery, what being a power ranger is all about. I don't think any of them could've made a better choice."

"It was sad to see our friends go, but it's great that we have three new power rangers," Billy added.

"Thanks guys." Aisha's smile returned, this time she showed off her pearly whites. "So, should we get to class? We all have English first."

"So do we," Kimberly said. "We'll show you where it is." She stepped up to Aisha's side as the group started towards their classroom. The boys all converged together and started talking quietly. "One thing I have to warn you about is being around all these guys all the time. Things can get a bit macho but they're easily turned around. It's good to have another girl."

"I was thinking the same thing," Aisha agreed. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "As long as I can remember it's always been me, Rocky, and Adam hanging out. Don't get me wrong, the guys are cool and everything, but it's good that I have another girl to talk to. Let me tell you, it's hard to talk about going to the mall when all you get in response is an eye roll and grumbling."

"I know! They should be honored to carry our bags, or that we at least _ask_ them to. We could just expect them to do it."

"Maybe we should."

The girls giggled. Aisha let out a quiet breath and twisted back and forth, the skirt of her yellow dress swishing along her legs, above her yellow socks and black boots. "It doesn't really seem like Avalon likes us, though."

"Av is tough to get along with at first," Kimberly admitted. "When we first met, even when she first joined the team, she wanted nothing to do with it. But we're great friends now. Just give her time. She's been through a lot."

Aisha nodded.

The pink and yellow rangers went into the classroom and took their seats with the other rangers. Aisha looked over at Rocky and Adam and smiled at them, hoping she could at least calm their nerves a little bit. Not that Rocky was particularly worried. With his bright smile and tendency to joke around, a lot of people thought he wasn't very fond of school. Find a subject he was interested in and he could talk about it for hours on end; he scored well on tests and studied hard. But get a plate of food in front of him and he could become just as impassioned. Aisha turned to her other side and watched as Adam made sure all of his books were in perfect order. He could be very quiet and was a great student as well, taking everything so seriously and hoping to do well.

Their school at Stone Canyon High had been great, but they heard nothing but even better things about Angel Grove High. The difficult part was being able to convince their parents to move out there, especially considering the short notice of it after having gained the powers. But it was like some sort of a spell had been cast over them—which she wouldn't put it past Zordon at this point—and off they went, packing up everything and moving on.

What kept her going were Trini's words to her before she had left. She was proud that Aisha was taking over her job as well as thought she was the best choice for it. She had her doubts, of course, but knowing that Trini was rooting for her, a girl she hardly knew and saved the world on a daily basis, it would stick with her forever.

"Class, before we start, I'd like to introduce some new students today," Ms. Appleby said as she strolled into the room. "And to say I'm happy to see your smiling faces once more." Placing her books on her desk she clasped her hands together and smiled at Aisha. "First, we have Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Campbell, and Adam Park from Stone Canyon who are joining us." She motioned to the rangers; Rocky and Aisha smiled and waved as the class clapped politely. Adam merely lifted the corner of his mouth in a tiny smile and nodded. "And we also have a new student all the way from New York, Sabrina Carpenter."

Aisha looked over to the other side of the room and noticed Adam slightly stiffen beside her. She turned back to Rocky, who had noticed the movement as well. The two locked eyes and Rocky gave her a funny smile, rapidly raising and lowering his eyes, causing her to giggle, brining her hand up to her mouth and turn to spot Sabrina. She was very pretty, long raven hair, an angelic face, and a sweet smile. She could see why Adam was suddenly so enraptured with her.

All of a sudden, Aisha felt strange. Something cold rolled down her spine, as if something was trying to warn her. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she turned to face the front once more. _What was that?_

"It's nice to be here," she said sweetly.

"It's nice to have all of you," Ms. Appleby said. "Now that we have the introductions along the way, let's get started on our work with Contemporary Literature."

Aisha glanced at Sabrina once more, feeling the wave as she turned and locked eyes with her as well. Sabrina gave her a sincere, sweet smile, before opening her notebook to start taking notes. Aisha turned away from her, falling into Ms. Appleby's voice, listening as she started explaining the syllabus and what was to happen during the class.

Kimberly sat back in her seat, crossing her legs at the knee as she listened as well. She glanced to her left and found Rocky sitting in the seat as opposed to Jason. The two used to pass notes during class when they were confused on what was going on or to make plans for going to the Youth Center after classes. But now he was gone to take care of his uncle and as much as she knew it was the right thing for him to do, it was still going to be hard.

But it was time to move on and keep moving forward.

It was what they would've wanted.

* * *

 

Sabrina listened and took diligent notes as Ms. Appleby started the lesson on Othello. Shakespeare had always been works she was glad to have come across and she read them in her spare time. Being able to take the first lesson in her new school on one of those works made things a bit easier for her.

Her eyes moved across the room over towards Adam, who was slumped over his desk, taking notes as well. She smiled a little. At least he was there too. Finally, the bell rang and the class got up, gathering their things to head off to their next class. Sabrina quickly picked up her backpack and positioned herself behind Adam. She never thought after their short conversation in the park that they would meet up again, and now they were both new students _and_ at the same school.

Reaching out her hand to tap him on the shoulder, Sabrina suddenly winced as a lightning bolt of pain shot through her forehead. She cried out, bringing one hand up as she doubled over.

"Are you alright?" A girl placed her hand on Sabrina's back, gently rubbing it. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

_I'm waiting for you, insolent fool! Answer me, now!_

"No!" Sabrina closed her eyes. "No, I'm fine. I could use…the bathroom?"

The girl pointed down the hall. "Second door on the right. Do you need someone to—"

"I'm fine." Sabrina quickly scurried into the bathroom and after checking to be sure there was no one in there, went to the mirror. She watched in horror as her eyes started to flash red. "No," she whimpered. "No, not again. Please, not again." Pain went through her once more. She reached out and grabbed onto the sides of the sink.

Lord Zedd's voice filled her head once more. _Don't you dare ignore me; I have the power, not you. And you are meant to do as I say._

Sabrina felt herself starting to lose control. The other side was taking over again and she could do nothing to stop it. Then she was gone and in her place was Scorpina. Although the outside of her still resembled Sabrina's cherubic face, the mannerisms and malicious intent were of the monster she had transformed into. "Yes, Lord Zedd."

"Now that you've infiltrated the school, keep an eye out for the rangers. We need time on Edenoi and Eltar, keep them preoccupied."

"I shall have the pleasure of destroying them myself," Scorpina said. She laughed evilly and then the maliciousness was gone and Sabrina was back. She found herself lying on the floor and quickly sat up, bringing a hand up to her forehead.

It had happened again. Since that night the space witch had come for her and zapped her with a strange, blue light, she had moments of blacking out and not knowing what happened to her otherwise. Standing up she gazed at the sink, where cracks had formed where her hands had been.

She hoped she could find out what was happening before someone got hurt.


	31. School Invasion

**Chapter 31**

_School Invasion_

* * *

 

"I'm going to be late for school," Dana said, running a hand through her short blonde hair. "And I can't find my car keys."

Captain Mitchell, who was taking full advantage of a well deserved day off, put down his mug of coffee. It clinked briefly as it hit the top of the wooden table. Glancing at his watch, he figured he would have time to get her to school before he had to get back to the house. There was no need to try and explain thing when he still had to talk things out with Ellie. The secrets were starting to take over the most of his life, but he didn't have a choice. Not when he knew how bad the fallout was going to be.

How badly would Dana think of him when she found out all of the rumors that were starting to swirl around him? That he may lose his position, and have all of his dirty laundry aired out in the public due to choices he made. He stood by what he did, and yet, he knew not everyone would feel the same way.

"Don't worry, Dana, I'll drive you."

Dana regarded him with surprise as he stood up from his seat, reaching over to the counter beside him and grabbing his car keys out of a plastic dish. "Sir?" She questioned in surprise.

"Dana, we're at home, you don't have to call me 'sir'."

That surprised her even more. As long as she had known him his work life trickled over into their home life. She had to keep her room immaculately neat, her bed had to be made to Navy standards, and she wasn't allowed to talk back or raise her voice. Many people would ask her what it was like to have a Captain as a father, how strict he was. But he wasn't as bad as others made him out to be. He really did try his hardest to be sure she was taken care of and well cared for. He listened to her problems and helped her out with her homework whenever she was stuck, especially considering her dreams of going into the medical field.

It was something she and her father had dreamed for her since she was a little girl. It felt like it was calling to her, the first time she had seen the profession in action. She had always wanted to help people in some way and that was definitely it.

Giving him a funny look, Dana watched as he walked over to her. "Who are you and what have you done with my father?" She reached out and gently nudged him in the side. Captain Mitchell chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders.

"I want you to know that whatever's wrong, I'll always be there for you," he said then spun his keys around his finger. "Case in point, driving you to school." He motioned her in front of him and the two headed towards the door. "How could you lose your keys? Aren't they always on the dresser in your room?"

"I _did_ have it there," Dana replied. "But then I had to go out and work on a science project with my group last minute and I have no idea what I did with it when I got home." She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear then tightened the pink scrunchie that held her hair back. "I'll find it after school. I've just been so busy trying to get a head start on my project. I have to get good grades to get into med school, remember?"

"I remember."

Captain Mitchell and Dana got into his car and drove to school. The two talked about school and what projects he had been doing when he was at work. That was when Captain Mitchell hesitated. There was only a certain amount of things he could tell them, as everything was mostly classified. Miss. Fairweather made it a point to be by his side whenever he was about to give out information that wasn't to be told. Their work on the new powers had been going well, but they hit a snag. There was something in the creation that always went wrong. They were unstable. It was the same thing that had happened when he accidentally truck Avalon with the powers he had been working on.

They couldn't have that happen to someone else, not knowing what would happen when the power finally burned out.

"Not much," he replied. "Mostly working on evacuation processes and the money that we need to bring in to have it be expedited."

Dana looked at him worriedly. "You think some monsters are going to come here?"

He swallowed thickly. So she still didn't remember the car crash and what had happened with Diabolico. That was alright. She didn't need to remember it. It would be too painful…make things too hard for him. The decision he was going to make soon. "You never know," he said slowly. "No one thought monsters and aliens like that existed and now with everything going on in Angel Grove, any place in the world is a target."

Bringing a hand up to her mouth, Dana made a humming sound. Captain Mitchell could see her starting to worry. "Do you think it'll happen soon?"

"Not with what we're working on, honey. We're going to be sure nothing comes here to attack us."

"Do you think we're going to have to move again?"

"I'm not sure. But I promise I'll let you know in advanced and not spring it upon you this time." Captain Mitchell glanced over at his daughter as they pulled into the school parking lot. He parked the car and leaned over, opening her door for her. "Have a good day at school."

"Thanks, Dad." She leaned over and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. "Please try not to work too hard. It's your day off." She gave him a knowing look. "But I know you're still going to find some way to work on something."

"I won't." He nodded and smiled at her. Dana waved and climbed out of the car, smiling at him before hurrying up into her school. She met up with her classmates and in a flurry, hurried up the steps and into the school.

Glancing at his watch, Captain Mitchell pulled the car out of park and headed back towards his house. As soon as he arrived a white jeep came up the road and pulled into the driveway behind him. He turned and watched as Ellie climbed out of the car and stormed over to him, her light blue sundress flowing behind her. "You gave them up?!" She shrieked.

Captain Mitchell brought up a hand, looking around. "Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down," she hissed, coming up to his side. "You signed your rights away!"

"Ellie, I'm not having this conversation out here," Captain Mitchell said. He turned and started to go inside. He could hear Ellie storming up behind him as they went into the house. He closed the door behind her and Ellie immediately launched into her tirade.

"I already had my rights to them taken away by you, William!" She snapped, dark eyes flashing. "Because you had all of the power in that situation! Then you sent them away! I could've been taking care of them while they'd been gone and you wouldn't tell me anything." She reached out and shoved him in the shoulder. "And now that Avalon's gone and gotten shot, you can't stand the potential of your own career being thrown in the spotlight or having it all ripped to shreds when they find out you're not as perfect as you thought."

Captain Mitchell steeled himself, taking in a deep breath. He regarded the woman that stood in front of him. At one point in time he had fallen in love with her, and having had two kids with her that he deeply cared about, had increased his love for her. They had been on the fast track to getting married, and then found their ways of dealing with stress and their goals in life had been a big factor in what had torn them apart. Especially since Ellie had, in all means and purposes, still been a secret from his other daughter.

At the moment he wasn't sure what he felt for the mother of his two daughters.

"There's more to the situation than just that, Ellie," he tried to tell her. But she had drowned out his protests. "I'm doing what I think is best for them at the moment."

"You think giving up your custody of Avalon and Bailey is what's going to help them? I don't have custody of them anymore because of you. I haven't been able to see them for more than a few weeks at a time if I'm even allowed that because you made me lose custody. Now they're going into the foster system."

"Ellie, I want to—"

"I know!" Ellie interrupted. "You want to do what's best for them!" She threw her hands into the air. "Frankly, I think you're a right boofhead for doing that. This isn't what's best for them. Having them be completely abandoned isn't what's best for them."

"And you think you can bring a better life for them? You're working on a nurse's salary."

"It's none of your business, William, but I got a second job and I just so happen to be doing well at that, too." Ellie sniffed, turning away from him. "Not that you'd know, you're too busy trying to be the perfect father." She paused for a moment. "Hang on a tick." She turned back to him, eyes narrowed behind her blonde hair. "I know what you're doing. You're scared."

Captain Mitchell blinked rapidly. "Scared?" He repeated.

"Scared that you can't control everything that's going on around you," Ellie insisted. "You lost control of the car that crashed; you lost control over the situation that could've saved Ryan. You're scared that something is going to happen to them again when the only person you have time to actively watch over is Dana!"

"Is that so wrong?" He finally exploded. She had hit the nail on the head and he couldn't take it anymore. "Is it wrong that I want to be able to keep them out of as much danger as possible? And even that didn't work. She still got in trouble and still got shot. I can't control anything she does over there." Chest heaving, he stared at Ellie for a long, tense moment. "I don't want to hurt them anymore. They deserve a family that can do that."

"Let _me_ do that," Ellie insisted.

"I'm sorry, Ellie. But you need to understand—"

"— _you_ need to understand that not everything is about you!"

With that, Ellie turned on her heel and left the house as quickly as she came, leaving the scent of her perfume behind her. The scent would be gone in a few moments. Just like everything else in his life, it all seemed to implode around him before they got better.

* * *

 

"Now that Scorpina is in the rangers' school, we should finally be able to get one of the rangers on our side," Rita said gleefully. "Maybe one of the new ones. Our attempts on Kimberly, Jason, and Tommy haven't gone over so well." She walked over to Zedd, who sat in his throne, gazing down at earth. Pulling up the bottom of her dress, she stepped up and sat down on his lap, putting an arm around her husband's shoulders. "Zeddy, I want a power ranger!"

"I'm doing my best, my queen," Zedd replied, a low rumble coming from his chest. He brought his arm up and put it around his wife, gripping her tightly. "I have Scorpina sitting in the school with the rangers already. It's only a matter of time until we need to have her attack."

Goldar made his presence known with a retching sound as he walked over to the man he had loyally followed since he had taken over the Lunar Palace and the woman he had blindly followed before. It made him sick to see how Zedd had managed to marry that wretched thing. He had gone from an intergalactic being, the Lord of darkness, to something that hadn't shown his full potential in ages. The way he had nearly destroyed the rangers so many times before having fallen in love with Rita was something he enjoyed being able to recount to those he saw while around the galaxies.

Goldar had even seen some of the other aliens laughing at Lord Zedd over his marriage to Rita. He knew it was possible for Lord Zedd to turn back to the monster he could be. But having to sit in the Lunar Palace and watch the two of them together? It was torture. Even when he was in his own lair, deep underground, he could still hear Rita's shrieking voice.

"If you may allow me to question your decision, my liege," Goldar said. "Why not have me go in? I've fought the rangers at their school with Arieselle."

Rita scowled at him. "And you've seen how well that turned out, you smelly ape!" She snapped at him. "That monster got blown to bits within a few seconds once they got that Power Cube thing."

"If you allow me to fight them now, now that I have the power of the Healiodore,"—Goldar motioned to the gem that sat in the center of his chest plate. It pulsed with power as the seconds passed—"I can be sure to wipe them out within a matter of seconds."

"We don't want them to be wiped out yet," Zedd corrected him. A long, snake like tongue slithered out of his mouth and he gave what sounded like a pleased growl. "We want them to suffer first. Suffer as long as we can possibly make them suffer. I want them to bleed, cry, and beg for mercy by the time we're done with them. You…we'll save for last. We still need you to get out to Eltar and Edenoi to be sure that all of our work there isn't going to waste."

"My Lord, I don't mean to go against your word, but I think—"

"Didn't you hear him?!" Rita shrieked. "We're sending down Scorpina. We need _you_ to continue to destroy those planets form the inside out. The longer we can do that before Alpha and Zordon can sense their home planets being destroyed will make things better for us in the long run."

"Goldar…" Zedd got up from his throne, knocking Rita aside. She stumbled back and used her wand to keep herself upright. Brushing off her dress, she scowled over at her husband, sticking her tongue out at him behind his back. The Lord of Darkness walked over to Goldar and stood in front of him. "You are my faithful follower. I know I can trust on you. Stick with Eltar and Edenoi unless other orders are given. I want to be able to _hear_ Zordon's and Alpha's anguished cries from earth the more you continued to rip and maim their planets down. Right now, the noxious gasses are starting to break the spirit of those on the planet. People are dying left and right. It's only a matter of time until we can finally get to the main plot. Then we can get to the core of the matter…so to speak."

Goldar tightened his grip on his sword, his red eyes gleaming, his sharp teeth sparkling in the light of the lair. He would follow anything Zedd told him, and yet, he felt he was being brushed off. Scorpina had barely been around; she hadn't done much in her fight alongside him this time around. And yet, there was something about her he couldn't ignore.

He had seen her fighting before. She was probably the most vicious he had ever seen. She would take her opponents and continue to sting them with her stinger until she was sure they were dead and even then she would keep stinging them until the person she had been reduced to a pile of bubbling black tar. Having poisoned them from the inside out brought on disastrous results to anyone that stood in her way.

Too bad Jason wasn't around, Goldar found himself musing. He would love to be able to watch the former red ranger twist and squirm, screaming in pain as Scorpina injected him and he burned from the inside out. It would be better, maybe slightly, than being able to behead the red ranger himself. Goldar felt disgust slide through his body. How he wished he would've been able to stab the All-American teenage boy when he had him in the Dark Dimension, to be able to watch that smirk morph into a look of sheer terror as he continued to stab and stab until the life moved out of his eyes.

But he couldn't do that. He was gone, left Angel Grove, and Goldar was stuck listening to what Zedd told him. He could wait until it was time for the rangers to finally feel the wrath he had been holding for ages. Zedd would give him the go ahead and then he'd be able to finally go and bring as much pain and torture as possible to the ranger and when that time came, he would take it with both hands.

"Now, get out of my sight," Zedd commanded.

"Yes, your royal highness," Goldar said dutifully. He turned on his heel and left the viewing area of the Lunar Palace.

Zedd walked over to the balcony and looked down on Earth. Watching the rangers were one of the things he found to be very entertaining. Not only was it interesting to see how human interacted with each other, but it was a good way to find out what it was that made the rangers weak. When they were the most vulnerable. But there was one thing Rita didn't know about his watching habits or why he wanted the rangers in his clutches so badly.

He wanted a new queen that much was true when they had, at one point, managed to kidnap Kimberly and tried to turn her into Rita. Zedd started to glow with anger. What a fool she had made him, Goldar, Squatt, and Babboo out to be. The way she had managed to make them think she had fallen under their spell and really had turned into her. But…he still found her to be very interesting. She was the one he watched the most.

She was the one the most aesthetically pleasing to him. Short, sweet, had a cute smile, had nothing but spunk and passion for days. And she had made a fool of him. It was attracting to him. From his studies he had seen that she was the most vulnerable and the most beautiful as he had noted when she was in the shower. Even when Rita had gone to sleep he would sneak out of the bedroom just to watch the pink ranger as she got ready to go to sleep. Even in her slumber she was beautiful to him, always sleeping with a tiny smile on her face.

Dreaming of that white ranger no doubt.

"What's making you so pissed off?" Rita stomped up to Zedd's side, reaching out for her telescope. Zedd stopped looking down at Earth. There was nothing interesting going on anyway. The rangers were just being their usual dull selves at school. Acting like they were normal. That gave him an idea. He turned to face Rita, who looked him up and down before taking a step back. "Stop looking at me like that, you pulsing freak!"

"My dear, we've seen that the rangers are the most vulnerable at different times of the day," Zedd said. He reached out a hand and curled it around Rita's cheek. "More importantly when they're at school. We've had some putties go in to fight them and that sent one of them to the hospital. The other times we've fought them have been in their normal instances. We have Scorpina down there, why don't we see what they really can do while they're there?"

Rita blinked at him for a moment then threw her head back and laughed loudly. One her laughter subsided she leaned into her husband and gave him a kiss. "Zeddy, I love you and I love the way your mind works."

"I love you, too, my dear," Zedd rumbled in reply. He turned her towards the Earth, waving out his arm. "Would _you_ like to do the honors?"

"Gladly," Rita said. She stepped forward and held out her wand, sending a beam of light down onto Earth where Sabrina/Scorpina was walking along the halls of Angel Grove. "Scorpina. When you get the chance, corner the rangers and attack. We'll be sending down the putties and Goldar when we get the chance."

* * *

 

"Man, this art class is going to be tougher than I thought," Tommy said. He put his pencil down, studying the sheet of paper that was resting on the table in front of him. It was supposed to be a still life drawing of the bowl of fruit that sat in the center of the table. Yet his resembled a bunch of fuzzy maracas.

Kimberly leaned over and giggled at her boyfriend's drawing. "I thought we were supposed to be drawing fruit, not the fuzzy dice they hang off of car mirrors."

"You think they look like fuzzy dice?" Adam asked. He shrugged as he glanced at Tommy's drawing. "I thought they were peaches."

"At least we've all come to the conclusion that his drawing is fuzzy looking," Billy added. He laughed, looking over it as well before turning his attention to his own drawing. "Though I can't say much for mine, they seem to resemble rocks more than anything else."

A girl with curly brown hair, glasses, and wearing blue overalls shorts who was sitting on the other side of the table, beside Adam, pushed her glasses up her nose as she looked at Billy's paper. "I think it looks great, Billy," she said to him.

"Thank you, uh…" the blue ranger paused as he tried to recall her name from having introduced each other at the beginning of classes.

"Violet," she quickly supplied for him. Lowering her head, she raised her eyes to his, half hidden behind the lids. "Violet Buchannon."

"Violet," Billy repeated. "Well, thank you, Violet, but even I'm smart enough to recognize art isn't one of my strengths." He put his pencil down and turned to Avalon, who was hunched over her own piece of paper, left hand flying over the page as she continued to shade orange that sat in the left corner of the bowl. "And you just put the rest of us to shame."

"Oh, I'm sure I've managed to do with that a lot of other things other than my drawings," Avalon remarked though she had a pleased smile on her face as she sat up straight. The orange ranger looked around modestly. "It's not that good, anyway."

"Are you kidding?" Adam's eyes widened. "It's the best thing I've ever seen."

Avalon rolled her eyes, slightly turning her body away from the black ranger. Self-consciously, Adam lowered his gaze back t his own drawing, absentmindedly starting to scribble in the corner. Avalon raised her eyes when she noticed the sudden silence and noticed the blue, pink, and white rangers all staring at her.

"What?" She snapped.

Tommy gave her a pointed look but didn't say anything otherwise. He knew how difficult it was for her to lower her walls and allow herself to open up to new people around her. It had been that way with the rangers, with Fred, and now with Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. He just hoped she would realize they were still a team, no matter who had the powers and whoever was in the suit.

"Anyway, I can't wait for the projects we're doing for mid-terms," Kimberly said, changing the subject. "Being able to work in whatever medium we want." She laced her fingers together and leaned forward. "I think I'm going to do a painting. I'm better at that than drawing."

"No offense, Pinkerbell, but you're better at _breathing_ than you are with that drawing," Avalon said. She laughed as Kimberly tossed her pencil towards her. She looked up as the bell rang and the rangers moved to gather their things together and packed up their things. They left the classroom and met up with Rocky and Aisha who had been waiting.

"Did you guys get out of class early?" Adam asked his best friends.

"We kind of didn't have a choice," Aisha said. She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hip, looking up at Rocky, who smiled sheepishly. "Mr. Red Ranger over here,"—she gently nudged him with her hip—"couldn't control his growling stomach. The teacher, at first, thought he was just acting, but then it got so much on her nerves she let us out to lunch early." Dropping her arms from across her chest, she clasped her hands together. "So we decided to wait for you guys to finish before we went."

"You mean _you_ decided to wait for them," Rocky reminded her, reaching out to poke her on the cheek. "I could've been into my third hamburger by now."

"You mean your fourth," Adam reminded his best friend. "Even I know you can eat more than you like to pretend you can."

"So let's get going now before everything gets eaten," Kimberly suggested, tugging on her backpack straps. "You know how much Bulk and Skull can eat. Something tells me that Rocky'll keel over if he doesn't' get anything in the next second," she teased him.

"I don't know, we've been here for two weeks and even though the quality of food is better, it could still do with some improvements," Rocky said.

"Please, boy, you'll eat it anyway," Aisha said.

The rangers—minus Avalon who merely rolled her eyes again—laughed and started to walk to the cafeteria. They nearly made it there when Sabrina came from around the corner and quite literally bumped into Adam, dropping her books to the floor. "I'm sorry, again," Adam said to her. He gave her a shy smile as he quickly picked up her books and handed them back to her. "I think this is the third time I've bumped into you."

"I guess its fate then," Sabrina replied. She flushed, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Oh, uh." Adam took a step back and jostled Aisha, who had been standing right behind her. He pointed to them in turn. "These are my friends Tommy, Billy, Kimberly, Avalon, Rocky, and Aisha."

Aisha took a step forward, holding out her hand. "Hi, it's nice to meet you!" Just like it had when Sabrina first introduced herself, Aisha felt a cold wave wash over her. Something flashed in Sabrina's eyes and in seconds the warm light turned to an evil one.

"Yes, yes it's good to meet you all." Sabrina pushed Aisha's hand away from her face in a movement that was supposed to look like she was brushing her hair off her shoulder. "Adam, I was thinking about what you said at the park. You're a great martial artist and I was hoping you could show me some moves."

Aisha couldn't help but roll her eyes. It's not like she and Rocky were terrible ninjas by any means. In fact, she had beaten Adam all on her own. Many times if she did say so herself. And even as she watched the bright smile on Adam's face, something she had never seen when it came to girls, she didn't like Sabrina.

Rocky noticed her eye roll and grinned, nudging her on the arm. "Jealous?" He murmured to her.

"Please." She rolled her eyes again, this time towards Rocky. "No, I'm not jealous. It's just that…I don't know, I think there's something wrong with her."

"Oh yeah, being pretty means there's something wrong with her."

Aisha shoved him on the arm but didn't say anything otherwise. She knew what she felt. There was something wrong and she was going to try and prove it somehow.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentleman, but may I please ask you to move along," Bulk said as he and Skull came around the corner. "We can't have you block the hallway, it may cause injury."

"Or worse," Skull added. "A backlog against the students trying to get to the cafeteria for chicken nuggets." With a bright smile, he rubbed his hands over his clothed stomach. "Mmm—mm! Chicken nuggets! Not even Ernie's food can compare."

Tommy laughed, looking over at the red ranger. "Looks like Rocky's not the only one that wants to satisfy his appetite." He put his hand on Kimberly's shoulder. "Let's go, guys." With that, the group turned to go to the cafeteria. Adam hesitated, turning back to Sabrina.

"Do you want to eat with us?" He asked her.

She started to smile and agree, but froze in pain. Her eyes squeezed shut as the wave of pain washed over her. She wasn't going to be able to hold back on Scorpina taking her over. She was never strong enough to do that. She had no choice. "No," she said quickly. "I'm fine. I have some stuff I need to do anyway…I'll just see you later. At the youth center?"

"Yeah. At the youth center." Adam smiled and waved at her, turning away.

Sabrina brought her hands up to her head, closing her eyes tightly. She could feel Scorpina coming on stronger than ever and this time, she couldn't shake her off. She gave herself up and Scorpina took over in her golden armor and with her crescent shaped bone sword in her hand. An evil cackle left her mouth, immediately causing the rangers to whirl around and see what was going on. They gasped and fell into fighting stances when Putties surrounded Scorpina.

"Go, my putties!" She shouted, thrusting an arm out towards them.

"Monster!" Bulk and Skull shouted in unison. They turned and lifted Avalon up over their shoulders before running off down the hallway. Their job was to make sure nothing happened while it was said for sure that Skye and Summer were gone and Chase was officially put behind bars. "Run!"

"Hang on a tick, what are you guys doing?" Avalon cried as she was carried off. "Stop that! Put me down! Guys!"

If the situation wasn't so serious, the rangers would've burst out laughing at the sight. But this was entirely too serious. Not only had Scorpina managed to invade their school, but she had brought putties too. And as they watched, the putties started running off in different directions, taking students hostage as they went.

"We got to find a place to morph," Billy murmured. "We can't do it out here."

"What about Avalon?" Aisha asked. "She can't morph around Bulk and Skull."

"She'll figure out what to do," Tommy reassured her. "Right now we need to get these putties and Scorpina out of here." With that he launched into an attack on the nearest putty closest to him. He did a jumping, spin kick that immediately got right into the center of his chest, turning it into sand.

Kimberly, Billy, Aisha, and Adam flew into the fight as well. Putties converged all around them and more and more seemed to appear each time they defeated on. Rocky backed up against a row of lockers and ducked as a putty leapt towards him. It crashed head first into the lockers and slid to the floor, holding onto its head as it wiggled around. Rocky laughed to himself and turned, striking out with the heel of his right foot and hitting the putty in the chest. Beside him, Adam opened up a locker door just as a putty's fist reached out to hit him in the face. The fist smashed into the locker door and the putty wiggled backwards, holding onto his wrist. Another putty grabbed onto Adam's arms from the back and he quickly lifted his feet and kicked the original putty in the chest, using his momentum to flip over the back of the putty that had his arms, breaking free, and served a punch to the putty's chest.

Kimberly did a serious of back flips across the floor to the putties that were in front of her and did a high t-jump, striking them in the chest. She then grabbed a putty's hand and flipped its over her arm before striking a finishing blow with the heel of her palm into its chest. Billy flipped beside her and did a series of kicks into the putties' chests, knocking them backwards away from him. He finished up with a drop kick into a putty's z-plate followed by a back flip kick.

Aisha did a wall flip so the putty that was behind her crashed head first into the wall and fell back to the ground. She ducked out of the way as another putty leapt towards her head. Using the putty on the floor that got to its knees as leverage, she stepped onto its back and jumped off, giving a well placed kick to the z-plate, causing it to break apart.

Tommy had broken away from the putties and was facing Scorpina one on one. In the classrooms around him he could hear some of the putties had broken in, causing the students to shriek and scream, trying to get away. Ones that managed to get outside of the rooms took one look at Scorpina and high-tailed it in the opposite direction, going as fast as their legs could take them. The fire alarm went off and even more students started to spill out around them.

"Ha!" Scorpina got a kick to the distracted white ranger, sending him to the floor.

"Tommy, are you ok?" Rocky and Kimberly grabbed onto his arms and hauled him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He placed a hand on his chest, breathing heavily. "But we have to get out of here. Everyone duck down and let's try to sneak away before she sees us." The rangers started to move away, ducking underneath the students that moved around them.

All of a sudden there was another flash of light and Goldar appeared behind them, laughing uproarisly. "Where do you think you're going?" He growled. Before the rangers could move, Goldar waved his sword which emitted a gold glow and launched towards the rangers. Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, and Rocky managed to get out of the way, but it struck Aisha and Adam, binding them to the pillar behind them. Goldar laughed once more. "Soon your friends will come to your rescue and that'll be the end of the power rangers!"

Adam frantically twisted back and forth as he watched the white, blue, pink, and red rangers hurry around the corner. They knew there was nothing they could do to stop the two monsters if they were unmorphed. Whatever had binded them was tough, he couldn't move his hands to his jeans where his morpher was. Considering how hard Aisha was struggling beside him, she was having the same problem.

"My morpher," he grunted against the binding energy. "I can't reach it."

"Me either," Aisha gasped. The force of trying to break free was exhausting her. Instead, she turned and glared at Scorpina. "Let us go, you witch!"

"It's only a matter of time now," Goldar laughed.

Scorpina laughed as well, walking over to the rangers. She circled the pillar a few times before stopping in front of Adam and grabbing onto his chin. She tilted his head back and studied his face as the black ranger tried to jerk his head from her grip. "Hmm," Scorpina murmured. "This one's kinda cute. No wonder Sabrina has taken a liking to him.

 _Sabrina?_ Adam wondered. It was then he noticed she was gone and started to struggle faster. "What'd you do to her?!"

Surprised at his outburst, Scorpina dropped his head and took a step back. She then gave a cruel bark of laughter. "Don't worry, black ranger…she's closer than you think."

Tommy, Kimberly, Rocky, and Billy finally found an empty classroom to stumble into. They hurried inside and closed the door behind them before Billy brought up his communicator. "Alpha, Zordon. I don't know what's going on, but Scorpina and Goldar are attacking the school."

"Rangers, you must free Adam and Aisha," Zordon's voice boomed out. "But be careful."

"Our sensors indicate that she's stronger than ever," Alpha said. "Ay yi yi! With her _and_ Goldar attacking, who knows what'll happen to the school."

"Or to our classmates," Kimberly agreed quietly.

She swallowed thickly. The funeral of those whose lives had been taken while Sagittaria had attacked the city still resonated with her. She sat on the couch, watching it with her mother and crying silent tears of anguish. Her mother thought she was just being as sympathetic as always, but it hurt knowing there was nothing she could do to help them. She couldn't sit back and watch it happen to innocent teenagers too.

"What about Avalon and Bailey?" Rocky brought up. "Bulk and Skull are with Avalon so she can't morph. And Bailey is over at the middle school."

"We're contacting Bailey now and we can only hope that Avalon can get away from Bulk and Skull," Alpha said.

"Rangers, morph now and may the power protect you," Zordon concluded.

"It's morphin' time!" Tommy declared. "Tiger zord!"

"Pterodactyl!" Kimberly called.

"Triceratops!" Billy called

"Tyrannosaurus!" Adam called.

The rangers morphed and teleported back towards Adam and Aisha, running over to their friends. "Are you guys OK?" Tommy asked them. Billy and Adam made quick work of leading their classmates to safety as Scorpina and Goldar stood with each other.

"Yeah, we're OK," Aisha said.

"Alright, then hang tight." Tommy turned to the rangers. "You guys get the putties; I'll deal with Scorpina and Goldar."

"You got it!" Rocky gave the white ranger the thumbs up and headed off into battle. Though these were putties and weren't nearly as strong as Goldar and Scorpina, he put his all into the fight, taking out as many as he could and as quickly as he could. Not only was he trying to help, but he needed to prove that he could be just as much of an asset that Jason was. It was the only thing going through his mind, images of the former red ranger that had been broadcasted over the TV stations were what kept him going.

He had to show that while he was different than Jason, he could be as useful if not better. He had seen the looks that Kimberly, Tommy, Billy, and Avalon had given each other and that Avalon had given him after their friends left. He sensed their hesitation and was doing his best to combat it with his friendliness and bright smile. It seemed to be working for all of the other rangers, though the orange ranger was a tougher case.

Lashing out as quickly as he could, Rock made quick work of the putties that were around him. That was his job now. To fight off the putties so Tommy had a clear shot against Goldar and Scorpina. "Power Sword!" The weapon appeared in Jason's hand and he continued to spin around, slashing his sword back and forth. Hard enough so that when it would crash into the putty's z-plate, it would immediately send them crumbling to dust.

Around him, Kimberly and Billy were doing the same, though they hadn't summoned their power weapons.

Tommy leapt high into the air and summoned Saba, starting to attack both Goldar and Scorpina, who fended them off with their own swords. Around and around they went, trading blows as quickly as they could. Tommy even managed to hit Goldar with a well placed kick that sent him stumbling back into Scorpina. The scorpion like monster screeched with fury and threw her sword, striking Tommy in the chest and knocking him backwards. He was down, but not out.

Billy, seeing that he had the chance to get Adam and Aisha free, quickly moved over to them. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yes!" Aisha cried, already tired of hearing the question. She was itching for some action.

"Just get us out of here, hurry!" Adam added.

"I'm going to need to use my power lance!" Billy held out his hand and his power weapon appeared in it. He moved to the side where his strike against the cord would bring little damage and slashed down, immediately breaking the black and yellow rangers free.

"Great job, Billy," Adam said to him before turning to his best friend. "Let's do it, Aisha."

"It's morphin' time!" Aisha and Adam pulled out their morphers and thrust them into the air in front of them.

"Mastodon!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Guys, I can walk!" Avalon huffed, bobbing up and down on Bulk's and Skull's shoulders. They had run far enough so that they had made it to the other side of the school. This time, after hearing her cries, they placed her on the ground.

Skull quickly grabbed onto her arm. "C'mon, we have to get out of here!"

"Don't worry about me," Avalon said quickly, shoving them away from her. "Go lead some of the others to safety." When they started to protest, she looked at them seriously. "Your job is to protect Angel Grove High School, not just me. Lt. Stone will have to take you into the program after he hears how many lives you've saved."

Bulk immediately turned serious and nodded at her. He nodded over at Skull and the two turned away, heading back the way they came. As Avalon let out a sigh of relief, starting to take off her sling, a putty appeared in front of her arm grabbed her arm, flinging her to the ground. Avalon's eyes flashed as she growled, getting to her feet.

"You're gonna pay for that one!"

All of a sudden she was knocked on the back and pitched forward onto the ground once more. More putties than she anticipated had come after them and they had the element of surprise. No matter if she would be able to knock them off of her, there were simply too many for her to handle.

"Aiya!" Avalon recognized the cry as from her sister and watched as the tight circle of putties around her diminished, the purple ranger flying through them with incredible speed. If Tommy didn't test her on her next belt soon, he was going to regret it. "You alright, Av?"

"No worries." Avalon took Bailey's offered hand and used that momentum to fling to her feet and shoot out her right foot, smacking a putty in the chest. "Thanks for saving me."

Bailey grinned at her big sister. "I figured it'd the least I could do for all the times you saved me. Ready?"

Avalon smirked as she took out her own morpher. "Try to stop me! It's morphin' time! Stegosaurus!"

"Ankylosaurus!"

The orange and purple rangers morphed and defeated the rest of the putties before teleporting to their friends, who were fighting Goldar and Scorpina, doing their best to keep from getting hit by their swords play. "Let's see how you can handle this!" Scorpina sent an energy beam from her eyes that when crashing into the rangers, exploded the locker bay into flames, sending them to the ground. "Bye bye, rangers!" She threw her sword like a boomerang.

"Stegorang!" Avalon called and her weapon appeared in her hand. She brought her arm back and threw it as hard as she could. Her boomerang flew forward and struck Scorpina's, emitting a brilliant spark, and blasted back apart from each other. Avalon grabbed her weapon and she and Bailey hurried over to her friends.

"Nice timing, Av!" Kimberly said as the rangers got to their feet.

"Glad to see you got here too, Bay," Billy added to the purple ranger.

"You couldn't leave me out of something as big as this," Bailey replied.

The colorful array of rangers stood together in front of the two golden monsters. Scorpina scowled as she checked her sword for damage. She hadn't expected it to be blown back so easily. Goldar snarled at the rangers. "It's not over yet!" With that, they backed away from them before running outside.

"Stop!" Rocky cried and led the charge after them.

As soon as Scorpina and Goldar raced out of the double doors, the rangers were blinded by bright lightning that zapped from the sky and crashed into the two, causing them to grow to the size of tall buildings. Scorpina's form had changed so that she had turned into a monster that resembled a monster even more than she had before.

Avalon sighed. "You'd think by now we'd be able to find a way to _stop_ them from growing big, yeah?"

"Zordon, I think we need some help," Bailey said.

"Unfortunately, Bailey due to their combined strength, your zords may not be enough," Zordon said.

"What about the new outputs I've managed to give to the zords?" Billy suggested. "It was a theory Bailey and I've had for a while. To see if there an even further maximum capacity that we haven't tried yet."

"Do you think it'll work?" Kimberly asked him.

"Yeah, we have no idea what the consequences'll be," Adam pointed out.

"We don't have a choice guys," Aisha contradicted the pink and black rangers. "We need to do something or they're going to destroy the school and hurt even more people."

"I've made Alpha to boost the power of the thunder ultra zord per your theories Billy," Zordon broke in. "Call it into battle when you feel the need to."

"No problem Zordon, we can handle this," Tommy said. "Ready guys?" When he got the affirmative reaction he looked for, he lead the call in, "we need Thunderzord power, now!"

"Stegosaurus, Phoenix ,Thunderzord Power!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord Power!"

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord Power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord Power!"

"Saber tooth Tiger, Gryphon, Thunderzord Power!"

"Tyrannosaurus, Red Dragon, Thunderzord Power!"

"Tigerzord, Power Up!"

Bailey leapt up into the cockpit of her Ankylosaurus zord. "Bailey here, I'm ready to roll!"

The zords came out of their hiding places, changed into the thunder zords, and came together into the thundermega zord. The rangers jumped into the cockpits of their zords and Bailey's Ankylosaurus zord converted itself into a spiked sword, being used by Tommy's zord in its battle mode. The tiger zord battle mode and Thundermegazord stood beside each other as they faced Goldar and Scorpina.

"Don't think we'll give up too easily!" Scorpina turned on her heel and aimed her stinger towards the tiger zord. It sent out a fury of flames, but the tiger zord continued towards her, as if it hadn't been scratched. The Thundremegazord swung its sword down and hit Goldar in the face, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground.

"Thunder bolt!" Tommy declared. "Thunder bolt fire!" The red gem inside the tiger zords chest flew out and struck Scorpina and Goldar, but the two fought back and knocked over the two zords.

"Tommy, try powering up to the max potential and forcing the energy into the blade," Bailey suggested. "It should be enough power to fight them off!"

"You got it! Tiger zord, power up! Let's see what you do with this! We call upon the power of the ultra thunder zord!"

The thunder mega zord and the tiger zord leapt onto Tor as he came out of his hiding place and attached to the top of the mammoth zord carrier. The tiger zord lowered down but detached the Ankylosaurus zord so that Bailey's zord attached to the thunder mega zord as its sword.

"Charging energies to capacity," Billy said as he scanned the flashing buttons and controllers in front of him. "We only have this one shot, Bay. Make it good."

"No worries, just put me in the right spot," Bailey replied.

"You got it," Rocky agreed as he was the one controlling the left side of the zord. "One Ankylosaurus sword, coming up!" He controlled the thunder mega zord to tighten its grip on Bailey's zord and swung it high into the air. Taking in the energy from the zord into the sword he brought it down and struck Goldar and Scorpina with an amazing shower of purple sparks and thunder bolts, just as Tor shot out a barrage of energy pellets at the two monsters.

Goldar and Scorpina screamed and squirmed around, backing up a few paces. "You fight and run away!" Scorpina said.

"We'll fight another day," Goldar added before the two disappeared in a flash of gold light.

"Yeah!" The rangers cheered. The ejected themselves from the cockpit and the zords went back to their hiding places before they de-morphed. The rangers congratulated each other on another job well done when something glinted in the distance, catching Billy's eye.

He held his breath as he hurried over to it and fell to his knees, brushing away the dirt that half-buried it. "I don't believe this," he murmured as soon as he unearthed it. He cupped it in his hands and gently brought it out of the ground.

"What is it, Billy?" Avalon asked him.

"Yeah, watcha got there?" Rocky added.

Billy turned around and held out the green jewel. It flashed in an array of beautiful colors, some of the rainbow and others that didn't have a name the blue ranger would recognize. Lifting his gaze, he spotted the recognition on Tommy, Kimberly, Avalon, and Bailey's faces. Their eyes were wide as they looked at each other while Rocky, Adam, and Aisha glanced at each other in confusion though they couldn't deny the beauty of such a gem.

"Oh mean," Tommy breathed. "Billy, is that what I think it is?"

"Affirmative." Billy swallowed tickly. "It's the Azurite Healiodore."


	32. Happy Days

**Chapter 32**

_Happy Days_

* * *

 

"Rockwell DeSantos!"

Rocky twisted to the side on his bed, pulling his pillow down over his ears. An immediate grunting noise escaped his lips as his muscles screamed with effort. Not only had he continued to go to his martial arts practices after having fought with Scorpina and Goldar, but even those wounds hadn't really healed yet. They really were strong; he had underestimated the strength the two had managed to crate, even by themselves.

The putties had managed to put up a bit of a good fight too, though as far as he was concerned it was probably because they were being used as a way to distract them from what Scorpina and Goldar were trying to do. Why else would they fight Tommy alone? Two on One? It makes no sense.

All of a sudden, Rocky's sighing moan turned into an actual grunt as many little bodies landed on his back, giggles reached his ears, and hands rocked him back and forth. "Rocky! Rocky!" came the little squeals around him.

Rocky poked his head out from underneath the pillow and looked up at his little brothers and sisters as they continued to climb over him. He reached out and grabbed his five year old sister, Maria, as she was the closest one to him, and lifted her up over his head. Digging his fingers into her sides, she squirmed and squealed.

"Rocky! Stop!"

Gently placing her down again, Rocky looked up at his brothers and sisters. "What are you all doing in here?"

"Mom says it's time for you to wake up," Diego, his twelve year old brother replied. He climbed off of Rocky and stood over him, grinning. "She says if you don't get up soon, she's gonna get the slipper and come up to wake you herself."

"Oh God, not the slipper." Rocky didn't take that threat lightly. He had been on the receiving end of that slipper so many times before and he knew his mother, Rosa, wouldn't hesitate to use it on him, no matter how old he was. "Alright. I'm up. Now get off me so I can get dressed."

His four brothers and sisters immediately climbed off their eldest sibling and hurried out the room; their footsteps and laughter echoed off the walls as they thundered back down the stairs to report to their mother that the red ranger was now awake. Rolling out of bed, Rocky stretched his arms over his head, hiking up the waistband of his shorts and went to his dresser. Glancing in the mirror above it, he found a slight bruise on the side of his head where it had collided with the wall of the Thundermegazord. The blasts that Goldar and Scorpina had sent their way had really taken a number on the zords as well as throwing the rangers around like rag dolls inside.

He gently touched the spot, wincing at the sting that immediately came from the pressure. He shook of the tiredness that came over him and grabbed a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, pulling both of them and his shoes on before heading down to the kitchen. He found his mother standing at the stove, frying up a large breakfast in the frying pan. He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Morning' Mom," he greeted her.

"'Morning Rocky," Mrs. DeSantos replied, turning to smile at her son. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine," Rocky replied. Turning to sit at the table, he noticed the time. He hadn't realized that it was that late. Not only did he have a martial arts class he needed to get to soon, but he still had homework that he hadn't started on yet. His mother could be very strict when it came to his school work.

She was doing her best as a single mother, as far as Rocky was concerned. Even with five kids of all ages to look after, she held down a job as well as made sure she knew what was going on with each of them and that they were well cared or in such a way that only Rocky could wish he could emulate when he became a father later in life.

"My morning wakeup call wasn't needed, though," he added, leaning back in his chair. Maria toddled over to his side and reached her arms up towards him. Leaning over, he reached out and pulled her onto his lap. His other sister, Isabella, other brother Antonio, and Diego all pulled up to the table as Mrs. DeSantos finished cooking and dished the food onto plates. Walking over to the table she placed each one down in front of her kids before sitting down herself. "I could've gotten up on my own."

"Rocky, she's been trying to get you up for the past hour," Isabella pointed out. "I think you deserved it."

"Don't encourage her, Isa," Rocky said.

Mrs. DeSantos chuckled, lead the family in saying grace, then started to poke at the food on her plate. "You know you need to have a full day of work and I don't want you to miss out on your obligation of your martial arts class with Adam."

"I know, I know," Rocky replied. "It's my responsibility to keep up with my school work and my after school activities," he said. Mrs. DeSantos smiled and nodded encouragingly. "Thanks for waking me up. I really would've been late."

"Especially considering you need your three servings of breakfast," Diego agreed.

Rocky grinned as he looked down at his already finished plate. Mrs. DeSantos nodded over to the stove, showing that she had made more food for him to eat. Maria squirmed on his lap, pushing her own plate away from her, sticking out her tongue as she did so. "Eat Maria," Mrs. DeSantos insisted.

"It's yucky," Maria replied. She pushed the plate away from her and wrinkled her nose for added effect.

"Don't you want to grow up to be big and strong?" Mrs. DeSantos added.

"No!"

"What about the power rangers?" Rocky tried. "Don't you want to be as big and strong as them? Like the pink ranger?" Maria's eyes widened at the thought before turning back to her plate and picking up her fork, stabbing into a pile of potatoes. "I thought that'd work."

"Rocky, can you take us to the park today?" Antonio asked.

"I wish I could, but I have stuff to do today," Rocky apologized. He thought for a moment. "I'll take you guys on Sunday. We'll spend the whole day at the park. How's that sound?" Isabella, Diego, Maria, and Antonio all cheered and Mrs. DeSantos gave her eldest son a sweet smile before going back to her own food.

She really deserved to have a break from her kids so Rocky tried to relieve her at least twice a week so she could have time to herself. And family was really important to him, so despite all of his work, he tried to give them as much of his time as he could.

As he finished his breakfast, Rocky stood up, lifting Maria off his lap and placed her back down in the chair once more. He took his dishes to the sink and quickly cleaned them off before going back to his room to get his bag so he could head down to the Youth Center. As he was putting his workout clothes inside, he heard the sound of footsteps heading up towards his room. The door flung open and Maria walked over to Rocky and tugged on the bottom of his shirt.

"Rocky, phone," she said in her adorably cute voice.

"Thanks 'Ria." Rocky took the phone from her and gave her a kiss on the head. Maria giggled and ran out of the room. "Hello?"

"Yeah, is this Rocky?" A deep voice came over the line.

"Speaking," Rocky replied.

"This is Jason," the former red ranger explained. Rocky's eyes widened in surprise. Why would the original leader of the power rangers be calling him? Was it as awkward as Rocky suddenly felt? That there was some sort of tension between the two of them? Or was it just him? "Yeah, I know this is a weird call, I just wanted to see how things were going."

"Oh. Uh." Rocky rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, I guess."

"I heard about Scorpina and Goldar attacking the school. I wanted to be sure everything was going alright." He paused. "And that I have no hard feelings in you taking over my spot. From what I've seen and heard, you were a great choice as my successor."

"I am?" Rocky couldn't help but allow the words to slip out of his mouth before he could stop them. "I mean…"

"Rocky, you bring something to the rangers that no one else does, and that's a sense of fun," Jason said. "And while some people could see that you might not be taking it seriously, you know how to channel that energy into your martial arts. You really believe in what you're doing and you obviously care about the well being of others."

"Wow. Thanks." Rocky could feel a large smile stretching across his face before it faded for a moment. "You really miss it don't you?"

There was a long moment of silence from the ex-ranger. Then Rocky could hear him sigh and he could imagine the teen running a hand over his hair. "I do," he admitted. "But I made the right decision for myself and for my family. One thing that being a ranger shows is that you have to change your thoughts from thinking only about yourself to the well-being of those around you. So, I know the rest of the original rangers could be a bit hesitant about adjusting to you guys being on the team—"

Rocky snorted. "—that's an understatement—"

"—we were the same way when Tommy joined the team and when Av joined the team," Jason explained. "Tommy had originally been evil and we didn't know if we could trust Av, so we were hesitant for a while. But it didn't take long for us to realize they were an integral part of the team. And you guys are too."

"Thanks," Rocky said gratefully. "I mean it. You could've just sat back and watched as I made a fool of myself or something. It means a lot that you called."

"Well, I'm letting the others know that things are going OK," Jason admitted. "But I thought you might need someone to talk to or something. Once a ranger, always a ranger. And besides, we have the same power that must mean something, right?"

"Right." Rocky looked at his watch. "Listen, Jason, I have to get going. But…thank you for giving me a call. I really needed it. Especially after the thrashing Goldar and Scorpina sent our way. It's going to take a bit for the school to get back to normal."

"I don't doubt it," Jason agreed. "By now I'm surprised they haven't closed the school, or the city for that matter, to get the repairs done. Try not to have it overwhelm you, man. Being a ranger can be very time consuming and soon you'll be having trouble balancing everything. It's important, but it's not the most important thing in your life. Your own health and your family are really the most important thing. Allow yourself to get some rest and don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I'll be here to listen if you need it."

"Thanks man that means a lot." Rocky looked down at the communicator on his wrist. That and the power morpher were really the only two things that connected the two of them, especially considering they didn't really get to know each other before Jason had left. But they were the only ones with the power of the tyrannosaurus protecting the even if Rocky's was a copy. He wanted to show the original red ranger that he could make him proud.

"You're welcome. I'll talk to you later, man. Bye."

"Bye."

Rocky hung up the phone and tossed the receiver onto his bed. Then, picking up his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and headed out to the Youth Center, calling goodbye to his family as he went. Arriving at the Youth Center he went into the locker room and changed into his workout clothes before heading out to the workout area. He found Aisha leading a dance class, her ever present smile on her face.

Rocky smiled as he watched her move back and forth across the floor. It was kind of funny to him, to see how easily she could go from being incredibly girly—due to her enjoyment of shopping, dancing, and all around being a girl—but could also be a tomboy in the means that she could and would threaten to beat up Rocky and Adam when the time came. Not only had she been the standout girl in their martial arts class, but she was so bubbly and spirited that she could make friends with anyone that came her way. In fact, she was so friendly that there were some girls at Stone Canyon that told him they never asked him out because they though t he was dating her.

No matter who she ended up with, he knew the guy would be lucky to have her.

"Hey Rocky." Adam suddenly appeared at the red ranger's side, causing him to jump. "Hey, are you alright?" He regarded Rocky with an expression of concern. "Is something wrong?"

"No, you just scared me," Rocky replied. "I didn't hear you come up. It's no wonder you practice ninjitsu," he said.

Adam smiled. "And I'm better than you, you can't forget that." He clapped the red ranger on the back and the two headed out onto the mats to spar. Moving back and forth across the mat in a series of punches, kicks, jumps, dives, and rolls. They traded blows for a few minutes before Rocky backed away a few steps, holding his hands up by the sides of his face. He bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"So, have you heard from that Sabrina chick?" He asked the black ranger. "She disappeared suddenly when Scorpina came around."

"No. I haven't seen her." Adam shuffled forward with quick footwork and the two did a series of hand jabs that they blocked with ease. "It was kind of strange that she managed to get away so quickly. But as long as she's safe, it's alright."

"She is pretty cute," Rocky said. "Do you think you'll ask her out?"

Adam dropped his hands. "I don't know," he said slowly. "I mean…I haven't gone on a date before and…I don't' think she'd want to go out with me."

"You kidding? She'd be lucky to have a guy like you."

Adam shrugged, though not seemingly bothered by the situation. "What about you? Have you found anyone here that you've had your eye on?"

Now it was Rocky's turn to shrug. But instead of the lack of confidence that the black ranger showed, the red ranger flashed a smile that oozed confidence and a hint of humility. "Girls are my thing. I'd be glad to go out with any of them. I just haven't found the one I like the most yet."

"Don't let Aisha hear you say that."

"I know, right?"

The two resumed their fighting; shooting out their hands and feet as they didn't spinning kicks, high jump kicks, throws, and punches that would impress even the most skilled martial artist. Aisha finished her dance class and sat off to the side, watching the two until they finally finished, slapping their hands to their sides and bowing towards each other. Kids that had been watching the red and black rangers applauded them as they smiled and nodded and went over to the yellow ranger.

"That was great, guys," she said as they sat down around her. "Those monster fights have really been helping your technique."

"I hope," Rocky agreed. He rubbed his shoulder. "So far all it's been doing is making me sleepy. I slept in today so all of my brothers and sisters were sent to jump on me until I woke up." He chuckled. "Mom was lucky I didn't accidentally launch them into the wall."

"Never have I been happier to be an only child," Aisha remarked, placing her hand on his arm. She gently rubbed the skin. "If you ever want some peace and quiet, I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind if you stay for a couple of days."

"Not even your parents have enough food to get through Rocky's staying for even a few hours," Adam joked, causing the three to laugh. They looked around as Tommy's voice suddenly came out of their communicators, trying to catch them. "Hey Tommy, this is Adam, what's up?"

"We were thinking today would be another good day for training," Tommy said. "And to explain some things to you guys so you can get an idea of the patterns that Rita and Zedd usually follow. Anything that would give you all the upper hand while you get caught up to speed. Can you meet up with us at the park later?"

Aisha leaned in. "We'd be glad to meet you guys."

"Kimberly has a gymnastics practice and I'm doing some errands with my Mom and Dad right now."

"Sounds good, man," Rocky agreed. "We'll meet you later." Adam lowered his communicator and looked at the red and yellow rangers. "Do you think we're being set up for the fire pit or that they really want to help us?"

"Things went well the last time we fought with them," Adam pointed out. "I think they're being sincere."

"Yeah, Rocky, don't be so paranoid!" Aisha agreed, removing her hand and whacking him not he arm. "We're a team now and they're working hard to get over the loss of their friends. If me and Adam left, you'd be upset too wouldn't you?"

Rocky nodded, thinking back to the conversation that he and Jason had earlier that morning. No matter what the red ranger had said and how glad he was that Rocky was taking over his spot on the team, he still couldn't help but think that he was being compared to him. Jason was obviously very strong, everyone in Stone Canyon had heard about him and his constant string of wins during martial arts tournaments. Stone Canyon had entered the same competitions; even Rocky had faced off against him once or twice, but ended up losing pretty easily compared to the other teenager.

Who was to say that he really was good enough? The former red ranger had been the leader of the team before Tommy came along, holding all of the qualities of someone people could live up to. Did he have those same abilities? Was he a good leader?

Feeling a sudden sense of pain, Rocky looked down to see that he had been gripping his fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into the skin in his palms, itchy and hot. He opened is palms and the word immediately the pain was replaced with a sense of relief.

"I guess," Rocky finally replied. He bobbed his head back and forth. "I don't know...I could do with the peace and quiet for once." He paused. "So Adam can stay, you can leave, Aisha."

Adam laughed, turning away from the yellow ranger as she glared at him. Rocky, recognizing the look on the African-American girl's face got up and started running around the Youth Center with her running after him accompanying her cry of, "Rocky DeSantos, you're going to pay for that!"

* * *

 

Avalon picked up her walkman and flipped through the cassettes that she held in her left hand, and then chose one sticking it inside. Once it was nestled safely in place, she snapped the sides together and looped the headphones around her neck, starting up the first song that played.

She turned as there was a knock on the door and Billy opened it. "Hey Ava, I was wondering—"he suddenly trailed off and looked at her for a long moment before bringing a hand up over his eyes, dutifully turning away from her. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were getting dressed. I'll—"

"Smurf, relax, I'm going on a run," Avalon said to him. She shifted the walkman to the pocket of her shorts and crossed her arms over her sports bra covered chest. "Besides, I didn't get much privacy when I was with the Vipers, I'm used to it." Slowly lowering his hand, he looked at her curiously. "And, no, I'm not going to go into it. Did you need something?"

"I was wondering if you were going to go to the park with us to meet up with Rocky, Adam, and Aisha later." He said. Avalon made a loud humming sound as she thought about it. "You're going to have to stop being so stubborn and meet them halfway, Ava," he pointed out. "It's not going to do much for our team if you keep holding them an arm's length away."

Raising and lowering her right shoulder in a shrug, the orange ranger busied herself by pulling her long hair up into a ponytail. "I'm used to doing that, too."

"You don't do it with me," Billy pointed out.

Avalon glanced at him from underneath her bangs. "You're my best friend," she pointed out. "And, frankly, the first one that I felt that I could fully trust."

"Thank you for that sentiment,"—he gave a smile—"But you can trust them, too. They kept our secret before they became rangers and they've helped us a lot in that same vein. It doesn't just affect you, the way you're treating them. It affects the whole team. Besides, don't you think that without them we would've been greatly defeated by now?"

Avalon gave him a sly smile. "I figure by now you would've created some brilliant invention that would've combated that potential flaw in my master plan, yeah?" The blue ranger's smile widened. "By the way, mate, while you were in the shower Jason called."

"Oh really? What'd he say?"

"Not much, just that he'd call you back later."

Billy's smile faded for a moment, something flashing through his eyes. "You didn't talk to him?"

Once again, Avalon shrugged. "There's nothing for me to talk to him about. Not really, anyway." Billy's silence to her statement seemed to be contradicting her statement. Instead of addressing it, she turned her attention back to the headphones around her neck. "Do you want to go running with me? Or are you on the brink of a major breakthrough?" Billy hesitated for a moment. "You have to spend some time away from the Command Center, mate. It's going to turn you into a hermit." She looked him up and down. "A better looking one than most, but a hermit nonetheless."

Billy let out a patient sigh, crossing his arms. "I don't really have a choice in the matter do I?"

"None what so ever," Avalon agreed.

"Fine. I'll get my shoes then."

Avalon followed the blue ranger out of her room and headed down to the living room where David and Lacey had been talking quietly. They stopped when the orange ranger entered the room. "I could come back later if you want," she said to them. She then gave them a funny look. "Aren't you usually at work by now?"

"Yes, well, we had some time stored up to take off when the time came," David replied. He reached out and pulled together the papers that had been sitting in front of them, hiding them from sight. "Besides, we had something important we needed to discuss and it was better to do it with little to no distractions."

A smirk graced Avalon's features. "Are you calling me a distraction?"

"Of course not," Lacey reassured her. "We needed to take a break anyway." She crossed her legs at the knee. "Lt. Stone called and left a message for you to call him back." She smoothed her hair behind her ear. "As well as we were wondering if you've heard from your Mother lately."

"Ah, not really." Avalon shook her head. "She's been really busy with trying to get things back in order. She's been taking on a lot of shifts at the hospital." Reaching up, she started to rub her arm. "It wouldn't surprise me if she come barging through the door asking if I'm OK, so don't be surprised if she suddenly shows up."

"Then we'll welcome her with open arms," David said.

Avalon was suddenly struck with how much hospitality the Cranstons had shown to her and her sister since they arrived. It had taken years and a long explanation from her mother to even think about her as something other than a woman that had left her for her own demons. _Maybe I'm the problem,_ she thought. _I was the one that got so caught up in my own demons that I wouldn't allow anyone else to come in and help me. If I had taken the help that had been offered to me before, from the rangers or otherwise, things might've been different._ Now she felt bad. She was treating Rocky, Adam, and Aisha lie crap, _had_ treated Kimberly, Tommy, Billy, Jason, Trini, and Zack the same way and they had done nothing but try to be friends with her.

She rolled her eyes, looking towards the ceiling. _I hate being wrong,_ she thought. Lowering her gaze again, she gazed at David and Lacey with as much respect as she could muster. "I hope it doesn't come to that, but thank for you for saying so anyway." She turned to Lacey. "You've been a pretty good substitute while my mother hasn't been here. And thank you, David, too."

"You're very welcome, Avalon," David said.

Avalon turned on her heel and went into the kitchen. She took the phone and punched in the number that Lt. Stone had given her to call if she ever needed to call him. The phone rang for a few minutes before it was finally picked up. "Angel Grove Police Department, Lt. Stone speaking."

"Yes, Lt. Stone, David Cranston said that you left a message for me?" Avalon said. Her heart rate suddenly increased, as she heard papers rustling in the background. "Does it have anything to do with Chase? Or Summer and Skye?

"All of the above, actually," Lt. Stone replied. He cleared his throat. "We've been checking Summer's and Skye's movements for weeks and they're long gone from Angel Grove. This faction of the Vipers has been disbanded entirely. They're not in our jurisdiction anymore." He sounded proud. "So you don't have to have Bulk and Skull follow you around the school anymore."

"They did a great job keeping the students safe at the school when those monsters attacked," Avalon insisted.

"As you've told me and I've taken it into consideration, to allow them into the junior police academy," Lt. Stone said. "They start their first official class in the next week. If what you've said is true, then they'll be great additions to the force when they get to that point."

"Ace!"

"And there's one other thing, before you go. Chase Blackburn isn't going to be going to court. His actions and crimes over the past couple of years, the ones he's admitted to anyway, has given him a first class ticket to spending the rest of his life in prison. So, congratulations Miss. Mitchell. You shouldn't have any more problems. In essence, you're free."

"Really?" Avalon's eyes widened. She knew she was out of the gang, but wasn't completely naïve. There were so many ways the Vipers could still come around make the rest of her life a living hell. That is, when she wasn't too busy worrying about getting jumped by the High-Flyers. "Are you sure?"

That was all she wanted to hear, that Chase had gone to jail and there was nothing else he would be able to do. And yet, there was still a part of her that was worried about him. Having had dated him for so long she really did care about him on some level despite the things he had done to her. Being locked up in a jail cell like that…it was going to do wonders on his psyche as she already knew there was a good chance he was suffering some sort of mental disorder.

How was he going to handle it? Would he be OK? Would he hurt someone while he was in there, putting the rest of his life on the line? But on the other hand, did she want him out of jail? The last few times she had spent with him he had shown how much he did care for her; taking the blame for Summer shooting her, having protected her from the very beginning of her being in the gang, and made some very bad decisions.

And the main thing she regretted from it all was allowing things to get as far as it had.

"Yes, I'm sure. He has no other outreach to anyone outside of jail besides the two that have left town. But please, don't hesitate to call me if you think there's any evidence that they may be back."

"Ok." Avalon tried to keep the smile from working its way onto her face. "Thank you for letting me know, mate. I hope I won't need to get in touch, yeah? Hoo roo." She hung up the phone and turned around, jumping, when she spotted Billy standing behind her, leaning against the island. "I wish you would stop doing that, Billy."

"Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't want to eavesdrop." He shuffled his feet. "So what did Lt. Stone say?"

"Chase is going directly to prison," she relayed the information. "The things that he's admitted to have given him a direct sentence. Though I'm sure there're still enough things they don't know that he's done. But he's done and gone. And Summer and Skye are long gone. They left the city." She placed her hands on the island and started to drum her fingers, unable to stand still. "I'm finally home free."

"That's awesome!" Billy cried, eyes lighting up. He moved around the island and gave Avalon a hug. "I'm so happy for you."

"So'm I," Avalon said. The orange started to bounce back and forth on her feet. "C'mon, let's go running. I've got energy to burn and I think having ice cream at the beach is exactly what I need right now." She grabbed onto Billy's arm and started to drag him towards the door. "And, once again, you don't have a choice in the matter."

"I didn't think I did," Billy admitted, allowing himself to be pulled. The two went out the front door of the house and started to stretch. Billy slowly started to move down the driveway then reached out and tapped the orange ranger on the shoulder before taking off. "Race you!" He ran out of the driveway and

"Hey! That's not fair!" Avalon took off after him and the two raced down the street.

* * *

 

Bailey let out a huff of annoyance as she ran her hands over her face. Nothing she could search online was bringing up anything about the Azurite Healiodore. All she was getting was the results of the actual gem that the power seemed to be based off of.

Resting her chin in her hand, she clicked on another link and looked through the summary that came up, "The Heliodor is the golden yellow or golden green variety of the mineral beryl," she read aloud. "It is a beryllium aluminum silicate. The golden color is produced when iron replaces some of the aluminum in the crystal structure. Heliodor can contain trace amounts of uranium, making it slightly radioactive. Heliodor was discovered in Namibia in 1910 in a pegmatite that also produced aquamarine, which is also colored by iron. The largest faceted heliodor, 2,054 carats, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. The name heliodor is Greek meaning _gift from the sun_. Blah, blah, blah." Her eyes shifted. "That does absolutely nothing for the Azurite Healiodore."

Turning to the notebook that sat next to her, she scratched off the links that were resting on the page. Nothing else to go off of. So if there weren't any sort of records of the Azurite Healiodore online, how could it have gotten into the museum? It seemed like the Angel Grove History Museum was the only place that had ever heard of it. But how could that be the case if it was taken from a lunar mission and specifically brought to the Museum?

 _This is really starting to get on my nerves,_ Bailey thought. As much as she loved science and experimentation, she hated how long it was taking for her to figure out this simple mystery. _Especially considering Goldar managed to drop it so easily._

She was so engrossed in her work that she hadn't heard her name called until Fred sat down next to her and waved a hand by her face. She turned to face him, trying to shield the work she had managed to get done. He didn't need to see it in, she would have no way of being able to explain what it was if asked. "Hey! W-what, are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Fred said. He turned the chair around and leaned against the back of it. "After you disappeared from school you haven't been returning my calls. You haven't explained _why_ you left school. And now you're hauled up in the library doing…" his eyes moved over to the computer screen but Bailey blocked his view. "Whatever it is you're doing."

"I know, I've been really busy," Bailey said.

"That always seems to be your excuse too," Fred added. He shifted on the chair, lowering his gaze. "We haven't really been able to hang out since your birthday."

Bailey chewed her lower lip as she tried to figure out what to say. The only explanation to it was that she was so busy being a power ranger. Every time something came up she had to make up the lamest excuses she could think of and race off to help her sister and her friends as quickly as she could. Often times she would come back too late to continue hanging out if not being able to explain the bruises or sore muscles.

She never thought it was going to be difficult to follow Zordon's rule of not letting other people know her real identity but the closer friends she became with Fred, the harder it was for her to follow it. "I know," she said slowly. "I've just been…busy."

Fred continued as if he hadn't heard her. "And I can't help but wonder if I did something wrong."

Placing her face in her hands, Bailey let out a slight groan. That was the last thing she had wanted to hear. Figures how everything else could be going so well in her life and then things had to come crashing down around her. For someone she wasn't even exactly sure what she felt for.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Fred," Bailey reassured him. She wrung her hands together. "It's just me."

"What?" He gave a nervous laugh. "You don't like me or something."

"I like you just fine," she admitted. "It's not you. It's…I've been so busy and I have so many things I'm trying to deal with and…it's hard to juggle everything right now." She looked at him with a sad smile. "I hope you can understand."

"I think I do," Fred said slowly. "At least, I hope I do." He rested his cheek in his palm. "So it has nothing to do with me? At all."

"No," Bailey said sincerely. She hesitated, her cheeks flushing, before reaching out and grabbing onto his hand. "If I could tell you what was going on, I would. But it has absolutely has nothing to do with you. In fact,"—the rosiness of her cheeks deepened—"you're the part that's not so confusing."

Fred blushed and lowered his gaze. "Good."

"Good." Bailey glanced over the work she had made not so much progress on and started to log off. "So…I have plans later, but…right now do you want to go see a movie or hang out or something? I mean, if you don't have any plans, yeah?"

"I don't have any plans," Fred replied. "I was hoping we could hang out." He busied himself, lowering his hat over his forehead. "Let's hang out."

Bailey laughed. "OK." She pushed her notebook into her backpack and stood up, pushing her chair back in. All of a sudden she felt a feather light pressure on her cheek and Fred's breathe on her face. Startled, she looked up at him as he smiled and turned away. "C'mon." She took his hand and led the two out of the library.


	33. Shaken

**Chapter 33**

_Shaken_

* * *

 

"Go!"

Kimberly launched herself forward and swung her Power Bow around, striking the dummy that stood in front of her. She swung her Power Bow like a sword, twisting her body around as the momentum of her swing carried her, only stopping when Bailey instructed her to. Sweat dripping off her forehead; she lowered her Power Bow and stepped back to the rangers' side.

Beside her, Rocky shifted uncomfortably. "Man, the desert heat is no joke," Rocky commented from her side, wiping a hand across his forehead.

"You're telling me," Aisha agreed. "I think I've sweated out my body weight at this point and there's still more sweat coming."

"Not to mention that we're working hard," Adam agreed from the red ranger's other side. He grabbed the bottom of his tank top and used it to mop his forehead. "Though the training regime is a good idea. Especially since we don't know what's going to be thrown our way next, working to be sure that all of our abilities are up to match."

"Not that that makes any difference," Avalon pointed out. Shifting her Power Staff to her right hand she used to her left to motion to Tommy, who had now started to attack the dummy that had been set up with Saba. Each of his swings was perfect and on the mark, proving that he did a lot of work with staffs as he trained for martial arts. "Tommy is clearly the best sword smith out of all of us." She then turned her gaze to Aisha. "I'd say that Aisha comes next, especially because her Power Daggers are like tonfa, it gives her the great advantage of having to strike quickly and accurately before getting back out of the way because her attacks are shorthand."

"Wow." Aisha blinked rapidly before smiling. That was the nicest thing she had heard the orange ranger say to her since she had taken Trinis' place. "Thanks."

Avalon nodded.

Kimberly reached down and picked up the water bottle that rested by her feet and picked it up, opening the cap and practically dumping the water into her mouth. She and the rangers had barely ever been in the dessert by the Command Center. The first time was when they had gotten forcefully taken by Alpha and Zordon to get their powers and they had started to walk back. The other time having been when their powers wouldn't allow them to teleport and they had to walk there themselves. Other than that, they had taken Billy's Rad Bug.

All of a sudden, the ground tilted and shifted and Kimberly closed her eyes, quickly bringing her hand up to her forehead. The dizziness continued to wave over her and while she was standing still, she felt as if the ground was tilting and swaying around her.

"Kim, are you OK?" Billy's voice called over to her, where he had been standing with Bailey, jotting down notes as the rangers took turns attacking the dummy.

Kimberly heard Tommy stop in his tracks and turn towards her. Even with her eyes closed, she knew he was looking at her in concern. That was the last thing she wanted him to do, to give up what he was doing to help her. It had been what he always did since the two had started to go out and they were rangers. Was it _her_ fault that Rita and Zedd always tried to kidnap her or target her just to get to Tommy? No, it wasn't. But she wasn't going to allow anyone to think that she was weak and couldn't handle herself. No matter how easy of a target anyone thought, she had single-handedly defeated a few monsters here and there. She didn't need anyone to take care of her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she called back, finally lowering her hand from her eyes. She tried to look as upbeat as possible despite the taxing sunlight that seemed to sap her energy each second she moved. "I just didn't get a lot of breakfast this morning and this heat is unbearable."

"I don't think it's that bad," Avalon remarked.

Kimberly glanced over at her and noticed that despite the fact the orange ranger was sweating as well, she didn't appear as perturbed as the other rangers. "That's because you have the power of fire. If this were a windstorm, it'd be like living in the lap of luxury."

Avalon shrugged.

Billy walked over to the pink ranger and lowered his clipboard, looking down at her in concern. "You didn't have breakfast today?" He repeated. Kimberly shook her head. It really wasn't much; she had been in a rush. Not only had she woken up late, but it was late enough so that all she could grab was a cup of yogurt. That was not a breakfast that anyone should have, she had made that mistake once before when she was going to her early morning gymnastic practices and was woozy for the rest of the day until she finally got something to eat. If being woozy while flipping herself upside down was bad, trying to fight while being woozy was much worse. "That compared with the heat of the day could make you really sick, Kim. I'd feel better if you were inside, in the shade."

"No," Kimberly said stubbornly. "I'll be fine. I have some water, and I did eat a little bit, just not as much as I usually do." She twisted her power bow in her hands, watching as Tommy went back to fighting the dummy and Bailey dutifully wrote down her observations.

"Kim, maybe you should just take a break," Rocky suggested. "You never know what could happen."

"I'm _fine_!" Kimberly insisted. "Geez, you're getting as bad as my mother." She rolled her eyes slightly then paused, noticing that all of the rangers who weren't currently fighting the dummy were looking at her in surprise. Then she felt guilty. She had never snapped at her friends like that before and they didn't deserve it. "I'm sorry, guys," She apologized. "It's just…"

Just what?"

A lot of things, really.

Her mother was dating, that wasn't hard to get through; she had been dating for a while. Her parents had been divorced long enough so that it wasn't awkward if their significant others met. It was that her mother was going out practically every night that was starting to bother her. Even _she_ didn't go out with Tommy every night, not when her homework and ranger duties were stopping her. Then there was the worries she, strangely, couldn't get over.

The words that that girl had said to her, "Maybe all of those cheeseburgers and shakes you scarf down at the juice bar are finally starting to catch up with you. It's making you too heavy to move." Wouldn't leave her head. The girl, who she now realized as Sharky, who used to hang out with Bulk and Skull, had seemed to follow her more than she originally thought.

She wasn't fat. One look in the mirror and everyone could see that she was nothing short of athletic and worked hard at her activities. Even with her ranger duties, she would get a good workout in if she missed gymnastics that morning or the day before.

So what was it about Sharky's words that were annoying her so much? Normally she could laugh off a comment like that, she and Trini would be doubled over in hysterics over how increasingly ridiculous it was. It was the first time she didn't feel like laughing about it.

 _What if she's right?_ was the teeny tiny voice that entered her head every now and then. What if that was the thing that had made Rita, Zedd, and the others think she was completely useless? It really made no sense, but the malice in Sharky's tone had been enough to shake her confidence, if not being able to hide it well.

"There's just a lot going on right now," she finally said. "I'm a little on edge." She gave a tiny smile. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

Billy continued to study her for a long moment, as if he didn't believe her, then turned on his heel and lifted a hand, cupping it around his mouth. "Bay! I think we got everything we need out here! Let's go inside and work on their target practice."

Bailey gave a thumbs up and motioned for Tommy to stop what he was doing.

Kimberly started to protest, "I didn't mean to—"

"It's getting really hot out here anyway, Kim, don't worry about it," Billy broke in. He gave her a warm smile and lifted the clipboard that was in his hands, glancing over it minute before leading the way into the Command Center. Once inside, he motioned for Alpha to follow them and the robot took a cart filled with their blade blasters with them to an indoor room that resembled a gun range.

The rangers broke off into their own lanes and picked up the safety goggles and protective ear covers as they were told to do. Kimberly picked up her blade blaster and held it in her hands, looking out towards the target that was further down the lane from her. She frowned, noticing that the target that had been placed in front of them was that of a putty. _Probably incentive to be sure we do well,_ she thought.

She shuddered, thinking about how scary the putties had been the first time she had seen them. One minute, she was leaving the Command Center with a strange new piece of equipment, the next; she was being grabbed by these weird gray beings that had glowing red eyes that shook her back and forth before knocking her to the ground. Even though she continued to guess when the putties were about to pop up, they still startled her whenever they got close to her. She hated the way their hands felt whenever they grabbed onto her, how much it hurt when she tried to aim for the Z-Plate and landed on the rock like structures of the rest of their bodies.

Pursing her lips, Kimberly pointed her blade blaster down the lane, towards the putty.

"Alright," Billy called, his voice echoing along the room. "When Alpha gives the signal, start firing down the range. An alarm will go off when it's time to stop and then we'll gauge our accuracy once we bring the targets back up here." He slid his protective goggles over his glasses and lowered the protective cuffs over his ears.

"Are you ready rangers?" Alpha toddled up to the side of the firing range, looking back and forth between the eight rangers as they held up their blade blasters. They all nodded and waited for the signal to go. "Go!" Alpha waved his hands and took a step back, getting out of the way in case the blasts ricocheted off the walls and shot towards him.

The rangers started to shoot at the targets, brightly colored bolts of lasers shooting out down the line. Some of the blasts hit the walls just off to the sides of the targets, others hit the arms, legs, and head of the putty that sat on the target. The blasts continued to fly as the rangers continuously shot, the blade blasters automatically replacing their ammo as bolts of energy were wasted.

Finally, Alpha pressed a button at the side of the protective shield and an alarm went off, signaling the rangers to hold their fire. Then he pressed another button and the contraption that held the targets moved up closer to the rangers so that they could see their progress. Glancing over at Adam's, who was stationed next to her, Kimberly could see that while some of the shots had missed, others hit the head and chest of the putty. There were a few smoking rips in the sides of the paper, showing that his aim had wavered the longer her held onto the gun.

Kimberly looked at her own target, smiling when she saw that her shots had hit either directly in the z-plate or in areas above and below that target. She giggled, seeing there was a perfect headshot in between the eyes of the putty. _And they say that I'm not strong,_ she thought.

"Wow, Kim, if there was a zombie invasion I know who I would go running to," Adam remarked, looking over at hers.

Rocky, who was on her other side, leaned over and let out a low whistle as he looked at it. "Same here. I'd just give her a gun and hide behind her as the zombies get closer." He shrugged. "That is, if I can outrun them. For things that are dead, zombies sure get around fast." He took off his headphones and goggles, placing them alongside his blade blaster.

"Wow, Av! You got a perfect score!" Bailey cried.

"You surely have a knack for it. Your sharp shooting skills are impeccable," Billy added.

Kimberly turned at the sound of Bailey's excited cry and the rangers surrounded the orange ranger, who suddenly looked embarrassed as she unclipped her target from the clips that held it still. Kimberly looked over the target that had a large hole the size of an actual putty's z-plate burning in the center. She must've fired the gun in the same spot enough times so that the hole widened with each pass of a laser bolt.

"Looks like the putties will _have_ to be afraid you, girl," Aisha added. She gently nudged Avalon's shoulder, causing her to smile shyly.

"How'd you do that?" Rocky added, mouth dropped pen slightly.

Avalon shrugged modestly, holding the target in front of her. "I've had a lot of practice," she said shortly. Kimberly nodded. It made sense, with what she had done before. And yet…

Kimberly sighed, going back to her own target and starting to take it down. She hadn't been able to do anything right all day. Ever since the rangers had gone to the Command Center to have things checked out, there hadn't been anything that she was particularly the best at. Tommy was the best sword smith, Avalon the best sharp shooter, Rocky had the fastest running time—if she didn't count Avalon having cheated by using her enhanced running skills, Adam had the best reflexes, Billy could lift the most weights—which was probably due to knowing how to pace himself while the boys usually went all out, Aisha had the best endurance, Bailey was the most systematic, and what was she?

The most graceful?

So what.

That came from her years of gymnastics training, which she had been doing since she could remember. Who cared about that? Was there anything she could do that the others couldn't?

Even when Jason, Trini, and Zack were around she found that she was on the lowest run of the latter when it came to skill. Jason had always excelled at whatever sport he tried out for, martial arts being his key thing. Trini was as graceful and polite as anyone she had ever known and could kick ass better than any guy she knew. And Zack was always just a ball of energy; bouncing around with a smile and a polite word to anyone he came across. Then there was Billy, who was part of Mensa, the Chess Club, Math Club, the debate team, and could invent everything under the sun and was respected for it. And yet, she was never taken as seriously as the others were.

Kimberly found all of those thoughts consuming her as the rangers finished up their work and teleported back to their houses. Even when Tommy walked her, she didn't hear most of what he had been saying, how it was good that they now had the means of being able to get stronger in other areas of their work so that they could make sure they would be able to stand up against Scorpina and Goldar and Sagittaria when the time came. She bid a somber goodbye to her boyfriend, missing the concerned frown he sent her way, and head into her house.

"Mom?" She called out, closing the front door behind her. No answer. Shuffling into the kitchen, Kimberly found a note addressed to her, sitting on the table. Picking it up, she read along. "Kimmy, I know we had plans to go to the mall for a major shopping spree today, but I had to go into work last minute. I promise we'll do something later. There's plenty to eat for lunch, could you please take out the ground beef to defrost for dinner? I'll see you when I get back. Love you, Mom."

Tossing the card onto the table, the pink ranger went over to the freezer and pulled out a chunk of ground beef, tossing it into the sink to defrost. Turning around, she noticed the cake that was sitting in the middle of the counter. Probably for dessert that night. As she got a whiff of the sweet smell, Kimberly's stomach growled. What she could do for a piece of that cake right then, something to make her feel better. Sweets were always one of her weaknesses.

Kimberly frowned as she continued to look at the cake plate. Her stomach growled again and this time she turned around and opened the refrigerator door. Sliding out the drawer of the crisper, she took a piece of celery that sat in the bottom. Closing the drawer and the refrigerator she took a large bite before walking out of the kitchen. She grabbed her gym bag as it sat resting by the door and slung it up over her shoulder.

She had some practicing to do if she was going to prove there was something she could do, she needed to get started.

Kimberly took another bite of her celery before teleporting to the Youth Center.

* * *

 

"Who thought art sculpting was going to be this messy?" Tommy complained the next day, picking up a towel and wiping off his fingers. Kimberly turned in her seat and giggled as she spotted the white ranger covered in splatters of gray clay.

"Tommy, I think you're supposed to make something out of that, not get it all over yourself," Kimberly pointed out, wagging her pencil at him. She gasped and then looked down to check out her own outfit for any gray splatters. The wheel thrower had been placed too close to her for her own liking.

"Who knows, maybe he'll be his own art project," Avalon joked.

"A little bit of clay in his hair and on his face and I think you're on to something," Adam agreed. The two laughed as Billy smiled.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "Laugh it up guys, you won't be laughing when you see what I come up with," Kimberly shook her head as she went back to her colored pencil drawing. No one could saw that Tommy wasn't determined, even if there was something he wasn't really good at.

 _If Tommy can do it, so can I,_ Kimberly thought.

She felt a wave of determination wash over her as she picked up a red colored pencil and started to swoosh over the page. It was an ambitious art project, she could admit that. Taking the view that was behind her, of the window and the trees outside, and re-creating it with the different color of the rainbow. The colors blended well together, but there were some parts of the piece she didn't particularly like. She glanced over at Billy, who was wrapping a piece of metal around a couple of wires, Avalon, who was bent over her own sketch book, and Adam, who was doing a water color painting. They didn't seem to be having any trouble with their work.

Even Violet, who was sitting across the table from her, was working hard with her clay.

"Something wrong, Kimberly?" The art teacher, Mrs. Spano questioned, placing her hand on the pink ranger's shoulder. She sat down on the empty stool to her and rested her chin in her hands as Kimberly gave a small smile.

"I don't know, I just don't know if I like this piece much," Kimberly said. She twisted back and forth on her stool. "I didn't know what to do at the start of class so I just started drawing."

Mrs. Spano smiled at Kimberly. "All of the best pieces start out that way," she said. Her eyes moved over the colors that swirled and etched over the paper. "This is done very well; I can see where you got your inspiration from, especially with the view outside. You like to run wild and free, soaring amongst the clouds and have the energy to match."

Deep inside, her pterodactyl cried out in pleasure, beating its wings. Kimberly's eyes widened as she glanced at the teacher, swelling with pride. "You can see all of that in this?"

"Oh yes, emotions run rampant in art, in fact, it's what moves us along," Mrs. Spano continued. She glanced over the page and frowned slightly, eyebrows furrowing together, as she reached out and tapped a darker spot on the page. "See here? This is where all of the colors merged together, it shows that you got lost in your thoughts or something's troubling you." Before Kimberly could respond, Mrs. Spano chuckled. "Or you're not sure what colors to use." She reached out and picked up the stack of colored pencils beside her. "There are complementary colors that you have to think of when you're working."

"Complementary colors?" Kimberly repeated.

"Yes, when combined they can produce white or black, but when put next to each other they show each other off." Mrs. Spano then grouped the colored pencils together. "Red and green are complementary colors, yellow and violet, and blue and orange."

 _That makes a lot of sense,_ Kimberly thought, the irony of the situation was not lost on her. "What about pink?" Kimberly asked.

Mrs. Spano laughed. "Pink, as it is a mixture of red and white would be more complementary to green."

Kimberly nearly laughed out loud. Who knew the complementary colors would mimic so much of her life. Jason and Tommy were two of the best guys she had known and they were really close to her. Having red and white make pink…it was like her. She knew the two of them would protect her and worry about her as much as they could whether or not they were around. Each of their relationships was special to her and she couldn't think of them ever ending. Then Jason and Tommy had been best friends, even back when Tommy was the green ranger. She hadn't seen much of Bailey hanging out with Trini or Aisha so she wasn't sure how that would play out. And Billy and Av—

Kimberly jumped, broken out of her thoughts as the bell rang, signaling the class was done for the day. The pink ranger put everything away and picked up her backpack, lacing her fingers with Tommy's as they went out of their classroom.

"I don't want to get any clay on you, Kim," Tommy said, trying to pull his hand away.

"Dude, if she wants to hug you when you're sweaty, I think you're fine with having clay on you," Avalon remarked, hugging her books to her front as she walked along beside them. "Though if it were me, I wouldn't hug you otherwise."

"Thanks, Av, I'm really feeling the love, "Tommy said sarcastically.

"You're welcome, Tommo."

Kimberly smiled and made a show of kissing him on the cheek to prove that she didn't care about it. Tommy squeezed her hand back in reply. The rangers met up with Rocky and Aisha and went through the line, getting their food, before heading back to the table. Rocky, who had sat down with three plates filled with food, looked over at Kim's plate as he sat across from her. All hers had was half a sandwich and an apple along with a carton of milk.

"Aren't you going to get anything more than that?" He asked her. "They have a lot of options.

"No, I'm fine," Kimberly replied. She picked up her sandwich and, looking at Rocky, noticed Sharky sitting at her own table across the room, stabbing at her foot. She looked as intimidating as ever and Kimberly suddenly remembered why she had stopped hanging out with Bulk and Skull. _Probably because all they could talk about were finding out the identities of the Power Rangers,_ Kimberly thought.

As she looked across the room, Sharky looked up and glared at her.

Kimberly turned away.

"I'm not really hungry, anyway."


	34. Betrayal

**Chapter 34**

_Betrayal_

* * *

 

Goldar growled as he patrolled through the caverns of the Lunar Palace. A light breeze blew as he walked and for the first time in a while, he hadn't been able to feel the breeze in his wings. They had been taken away, again, all because Rita and Zedd had come down on him after having lost the Healiodore.

Zedd had been furious, even more so than usual and had tortured Goldar for his incompetence. Using his Z-staff he had beaten and struck the golden monster until he fell to his knees, then blasted him with electricity before taking away his wings.

Again.

This was the second time he had lost his wings. The first having been after his humiliating defeat by the Power Rangers shortly after their creation. Rita had been so disgusted with him and his defeat that she had taken them away from him. Zedd had given the back as an incentive to destroy the rangers, but this had been his last straw.

Goldar reached out and punched the rock wall beside him. If only he'd been able to kill the red ranger the year before. When he had him in the Dark Dimension at his mercy. All he had to do was stab the tip of his sword down at the right time and Jason's head would've been knocked clear off his shoulders. He would've been seen as the right hand man that anyone that ruled the Lunar Palace needed.

But no.

He continued to fail and after losing the Healiodore was grateful that Zedd hadn't gone as far as to kill him, even though he definitely deserved it.

Goldar walked up to a cell that had putties guarding it. Inside was just what he needed at a time like this. The golden monster walked over to the putties and pulled out his sword, pointing it at them. "Get out of my way!" His gravelly voice snarled. Despite their orders from Rita and Zedd to stay there, they were also aware of the sort of power that Goldar could exhibit on them and they scattered like ants, waving their arms as they ran off down the cavernous hallway.

Turning around, Goldar lifted the ring of keys off of the wall behind him and took the right one out. He placed it in the lock and swung open the door to the cell. Walking inside, he could hear the sound of chains moving together as the captive whipped around to face him. Goldar smirked at his captive, one of the captives from Edenoi. She shrank away from Goldar, not able to get far as she was chained to the floor. Goldar walked over to the female and brought his sword up, gently pressing the tip into her neck. Through the weapon he could feel her shuddering, though she did her best not to make it apparent to him.

"That's right," he growled. "Squirm! Squirm for me you little maggot!"

He pressed the tip of the sword in harder, allowing a drip of blood to paint the end. Bringing his sword back away from her, he tossed it to the ground, the sudden clattering causing the female to wince, jerking backwards. She cried out in pain as the chains jerked back against her movement. Goldar moved in front of the woman and brought his hands up to the gold plate that covered his front, starting to unbuckle it. He let it slide to the floor and it created a metallic clang that caused the female to wine once more.

"Take it!" Goldar growled, shuffling closer to her.

The female whimpered and raised her hands to wrap around him.

"Wouldn't you rather have a _real_ woman pleasure you?" Scorpina's voice sounded from behind Goldar. The golden monster turned to take in the scorpion monster, but didn't make a move to cover himself. The female in front of him dropped her hands and inched backwards away from Goldar. "It'd be a better overall experience."

With a growling sigh, Goldar grabbed his golden plate and replaced it, tying it back around his hips. "Scorpina, shouldn't you be out doing Zedd's bidding?"

"No," Scorpina replied shortly. She pouted as she came up to Goldar's side. She glanced down at the female captive, tilting her head to the side, looking through her rather than looking at her. "They sent out Sagittaria again. One of these days he's going to get himself killed. He isn't doing much for Rita and Zedd. The rangers keep defeating him quicker and quicker." A malicious smile slid across her face. "He needs to be taken care of."

Goldar recognized the dark tone to her voice. "Taken care of?" He repeated.

"If Sagittaria is out of the picture, then Rita and Zedd will know that their pesky horoscope monsters aren't helping them at all," she said. Goldar gave her a harsh stare. "I'm so much more than that," she reminded him. "I'm the _best._ I've been around before the others were created and I'll continue to be here when they're gone." She reached out a hand and stroked the side of Goldar's cheek. " _We'll_ be here when they're gone."

Goldar made a low humming sound listening to what Scorpina was saying to her. Getting rid of the horoscope monsters, starting with Sagittaria. They had done nothing but get destroyed one by one; Arieselle, Piscessen, Gemma, Nie, Libranian, the Aquarius monster, they had all been defeated. There weren't many left and who knew how strong or weak they'd be. Once they were out of the way, they could focus more on destroying Eltar and Edenoi from the inside out. The toxic gasses were slowly starting to work, but they needed to move faster or else Rita's and Zedd's master plan for domination against the rangers would fall apart before they could even get it off the ground.

She had a point.

Goldar turned to face Scorpina, his red eyes looking deep into her dark brown ones. "I'm listening," he growled.

* * *

 

"Great class today, guys," Tommy said to the students that stood in front of him, hands at their sides as they patiently waited for his instruction. "You'll be testing for your belts soon, so I want you all to practice as much as you can." He smiled at the group then bowed towards them. They bowed back and he waved before going over to his bag to get his towel.

Bailey bounced over to him, getting her own towel. "Am I really going to be testing for my belt soon? You and Jason said that before and it never happened?" She looked up at him with earnest eyes and he chuckled before reaching out and ruffling her hair.

"As you can imagine, some power rangers stuff got in the way," he said to her. She suddenly became serious and nodded, though the excitement was still in her eyes. He could see her quivering, doing her best not to let her constant excitement burst through. "But, yes, you're going to be tested for the next belt soon. Not that you have anything to worry about, you've been greatly improving." He glanced over his shoulder, watching as the kids met up with their parents and left the Youth Center. "It's too bad that Fred couldn't come today, he really missed some god stuff."

"I know," Bailey agreed. "But he went to visit his grandparents today." She then grinned and started to punch the air in front of her. "So now I'm ahead and I can show _him_ some things this time." Taking a step back, she spun on her heel and did a high side kick.

Tommy clapped appreciatively causing the purple ranger to beam. "Great job, Bay. You've really got it down. Soon you're going to be teaching _me_ a thing or two." He picked up his gym bag. "Do you have a way to get home?"

Bailey nodded. "Yeah, Av's coming to get me. She's still looking for a job, so if you see something on the way home, please let her know." She leaned forward and placed a hand by her mouth, speaking in a stage whisper. "She's not great with people so anything where she's like a hermit will be best."

"I'll keep that in mind." The white ranger laughed and held out his hand, accepting a high-five from the purple ranger. He ruffled her hair once more, causing her to let out a shriek and start to fix her hair. She swung a small fist towards the white ranger, but he backed out of the way, hurrying towards the doorway. He waved to Ernie as he went, though the owner of the Youth Center appeared to be too preoccupied cleaning the picture of the power rangers that he kept behind the counter. _I didn't realize he appreciated what we did so much,_ he thought.

Walking out of the Youth Center, Tommy had made it halfway home before he had a nagging thought that he was forgetting something. Slowing to a stop, Tommy brought a hand up to his chin as he tried to remember what it was. Was he supposed to hang out with Kim? No, she had an extra gymnastics practice as well as having to do homework. Did his mother want him to pick up something from the store? No, she had gone grocery shopping over the weekend. Maybe his Dad needed something. He vaguely remembered him saying something to him this morning, but he had been so busy trying to find his misplaced homework and textbooks to get to school on time that he could hardly remember.

"You look like someone just showed you a massive math problem, man."

Tommy whirled around at the familiar sounding voice and grinned when he spotted Zack standing behind him, hands shoved into the pockets of his black jeans. His ever present friendly smile was on his face, but it appeared to be tinged with nervousness this time around.

"Zack!" Tommy cried. "What are you doing here?"

Zack's smile widened and he reached out his hand. Tommy grabbed onto it and the two came together in a man hug before stepping back once more. Zack shrugged, replacing his hands into his jeans pockets as his eyes shifted back and forth for a few moments.

"We had some more stuff that we had to get from the house," Zack explained. Now he was shifting back and forth from foot to foot. "Mom insisted that we come back and get some stuff and I couldn't pass up the chance to see Angel Grove again."

"How long have you been here?" Tommy asked. His excitement had started to wane, getting the feeling that something was really wrong.

"A couple of days," Zack admitted. Tommy's mouth dropped open before he could stop himself. A couple of days? _He's been back in Angel Grove for a couple of days and hasn't said anything?_ He thought. _Why would he need to hide it from us?_ Zack must've noticed the surprise on the white ranger's face for he quickly backtracked. "I was going to get in contact with you guys, but there wasn't enough time. As soon as everything is packed up again, we're heading back out."

"Well, what's your new address?" Tommy pressed. "We need to keep in touch."

Zack gave him a knowing smile. "We're rangers, Tommy," his eyes darkened as he turned his gaze to his feet. "Or I _was_ as the case may be. Either way there's always going to be a way to get in contact with someone if we ever need to." He scratched his wrist where his communicator had been. "Besides, we haven't been there long, I don't know it yet. But once I do, I'll be sure to send it to you guys."

Tommy nodded. "Well, do you have time to—"

"Excuse me, but loitering is not warranted around here," Bulk said as he walked up, in uniform. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Tommy was annoyed and couldn't help but let it show. He and Zack were just talking; there was nothing wrong with that. But then Bulk turned and looked at Zack, giving him a stern look and Zack nodded, taking a step back away from the junior police academy candidate.

"Sorry about that, man," Zack apologized. He turned to Tommy and gave him a half smile. "Tell the others I said 'hi'." He started to back away from the two. "And that I'll definitely get in touch with you guys again when I get the chance. I promise."

He turned on his heel and walked away without a backwards glance.

Tommy watched him leave before turning to Bulk with a frown. "What'd you do that for?" He demanded. "We weren't doing anything wrong and we're not loitering. We were just talking."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I must ask you to move along," Bulk said. He started to walk off down the street once more. Tommy followed after him. "Sir, if you don't move along I'm going to have to write you up."

"Bulk, what was that look that you gave Zack?" Tommy tried a different tactic. He knew that he hadn't mistaken it. As soon as the two had locked eyes, Zack had been quick to leave, just when they were starting to talk. And he had been acting strangely. There had to be something between the two of them that he didn't know. "You ran him off faster than you repel girls." He laughed lightly, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"I can't dispose of that classified information," Bulk replied. But he had hesitated before he spoke, letting Tommy know that there was, indeed, something he was hiding.

"Classified?" Tommy repeated. "Zack just moved, what's so classified about that?"

Bulk came to a stop and turned to the white ranger, raising an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing…power ranger," he said. Tommy's eyes widened and his heart dropped to his feet. He knew Bulk and Skull had always been running around, trying to figure out the identities of the rangers and had even become bit obsessed with the idea before having tried out for the police force. Tommy started to stammer out an answer but Bulk raised a hand in front of his face. "I _know_ you're a power ranger," he insisted. "Skull and I both know." He paused. "We've known for a while."

Swallowing hard, Tommy couldn't deny it. He knew Bulk knew. "How did you find out?"

"That's not important, Tommy," Bulk said to him. "What's important is that we know and we're not going to tell your secret. It couldn't have been a coincidence that once Jason, Trini, and Zack all left that Rocky, Adam, and Aisha suddenly came to Angel Grove High." He raised an eyebrow. "And that you dweebs are the only ones that I know that wear the same colors every day."

Tommy had to admit, that would've been a good giveaway to anyone that would've paid attention to it. "What does that have to do with Zack moving?"

Bulk's eyes shifted the same way Zack's had. "Once he lost his powers or gave them over or whatever like Trini and Jason, they weren't needed. Why stay?"

It had to be some sort of guess that Bulk knew so much about the ways that the three had left. Then again, he had a point. Why stick around if their powers would essentially be useless after their replacements had come in? Still, there had to be something else that his former tormenter had to know. His information couldn't all have come from being a power ranger. In fact, Zack's sudden moving away _was_ strange. Maybe he had only just found out about it and they had to get out quickly.

But for what reason?

All of a sudden the ground started to shake and he could hear the distinct sound of Angel Grove residents screaming. Tommy instantly felt himself steel up in preparation for whatever fight was going to come out of it. He glanced over at Bulk, who looked off in the direction the screams were coming from.

"Go," he said to Tommy.

Tommy nodded and brought his communicator up. Pressing a button on the side, he teleported to the Command Center seconds before the rest of the rangers all gathered together.

"What's going on?" Avalon asked, bringing her hair up into a ponytail.

"It seems that Rita and Zedd have sent out Sagittaria once more," Zordon said. "Behold the viewing globe." The rangers all turned and watched as Sagittaria held out his hands, sending arrows out towards the residents that ran away from him. They watched as the ones that were struck in the back pitched forward and fell to the ground, not moving.

"Oh, not again," Kimberly moaned.

"What's it going to take for this guy to go away?" Rocky asked. He punched his fist into his open hand. "We're going to have to work extra hard to get rid of this guy."

"Is it safe though?" Aisha asked. She shook her head, watching as Sagittaria continued to shoot out arrow after arrow, face set in intense concentration. "The last time we faced this guy he really hurt Trini. And even without his bow, he still managed to defeat the team."

"It's going to be a tough one to face," Billy agreed. "It's going to take a lot of strategy to figure out a way to defeat him."

"Do you have any ideas?" Adam questioned. He winced as a blast on screen caused a car to blow up, sending flaming shrapnel around the streets of Angel Grove.

"Yeah, I mean, Sagittaria nearly went ballistic last time," Bailey added. "There was something mentally wrong with him the way he was attacking." She twirled a finger by her head in the crazy sign to further prove her point.

Billy rubbed his chin as he started to pace back and forth. "I believe that he best thing to do is to do long range attacks," he said. "Sagittaria appears to be the sort of monster that only attacks up close and the harder it is for him to get close, the better off we'd be." He placed his hands on his hips, looking at the rangers in turn. "But then again, it would make it harder of us to get a good shot on him unless you have a long ranged weapon, which would put Aisha, Rocky, and Tommy at a severe disadvantage."

"Then maybe we can save her for last," Avalon pointed out, stepping up to Billy's side. "Use long ranged attacks until we're sure that we have Sagittaria's guard down and send the other three in to finish him off at the end."

Billy mulled it over. "I can't guarantee it'll work, but it's something we can try."

"We can't wait much longer," Kimberly interrupted, backing away from the viewing globe. She glanced at her friends, gently chewing her lower lip. "The people of Angel Grove can't take much more. We have to help them now." She clenched her hands into fists. "Even if we're destroyed in the process. We have to do something."

"Kim's right," Tommy agreed. "We have to do something now or else more innocent people are going to be hurt." The rangers nodded at him. "It's morphin' time! Tiger Zord!"

"Ankylosaurus!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber Tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers teleported to the streets of Angel Grove and started to attack the putties that arrived as soon as they touched down. The putties were either stronger than they always had been or they were working their hardest to keep the rangers from Sagittaria as it took them longer than usual to defeat the last putty before turning to the horoscope monster.

"You've come back to play, huh?" Sagittaria's right eye twitched rapidly as he turned to face the rangers. His face was dark with fury, a scar down his cheek. "This is the last time I'm going to deal with you pukes! You keep getting in my way and no matter how many times I destroy you, you keep coming back!"

"And we're going to _keep_ coming back so long as our city is in danger," Tommy declared.

"Because we care about everyone in it," Kimberly added.

"And the threats that come our way," Billy said.

"We won't give up," Avalon agreed.

"We won't give in to evil," Bailey said.

"We're going to do all it takes to stop you," Rocky said.

"And everything you stand for," Aisha said.

"So be prepared to be destroyed!" Adam continued.

"Power Rangers!" The eight declared.

Sagittaria scowled, bringing his hands up above his head. The sky darkened and arrows appeared above his head. They shot towards the ground as if fired out of a machine gun and blasted the rangers. With cries of pain, they threw up their hands and arms to protect their faces before diving off to the side.

"Power Lance!"

"Power Bow!"

"Stegorang!"

"Ankylo Charger!"

Billy, Kimberly, Avalon, and Bailey all summoned their weapons in a blink of an eye to start their plan. The long range attacks were going to go first, and then the others would go in right afterwards to catch Sagittaria off guard. Avalon took a step back and let out a grunt of effort as she swung her spiked boomerang forward. Kimberly pulled back her bow and fired a set of arrows back at the archer, and Bailey's gun let out a large blast of spikes towards him as well. The blasts all shot towards Sagittaria and Billy readied his power lance to do the same.

"Aqua strike!" He cried. There was a moment of silence and then nothing came out of the front of his Power Lance as it had done many times before. "What?" He brought the staff up and tried one more. "Aqua strike!" Worried, he looked up, watching as the strikes from the power bow, Ankylo charger, and the stegorang struck Sagittaria.

"Go!" Tommy withdrew Saba from his sheath and charged forward, holding it high over his head. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha summoned their Power Sword, Power Axe, and Power Daggers and charged after him.

"What's going on?" Bailey asked the blue ranger.

"For some reason, I can't come into contact with my water powers," Billy explained. "I should've been able to use my Aqua Strike attack, which would've soaked Sagittaria and causing him to become susceptible to currents of electricity, but it's not working."

He looked up as there was a cry of pain and he watched Aisha get knocked to the ground.

Tommy, who was up close and personal with Sagittaria, didn't miss the pure evil intent in the monster's eyes as he blasted Aisha to the ground. Tommy ducked out of the way as Sagittaria tried to rocket a spear-like arrow at him then brought Saba around and slashed Sagittaria's shoulder before using the forward momentum to deliver a high kick that struck the human-monster in the jaw. Rocky and Adam followed up with critical blows from the power sword and power axe before getting knocked back by an invisible force as well.

Sagittaria then swung around and struck Tommy in the stomach with his fist. Tommy felt himself get lifted off his feet and fly back onto the ground, the wind immediately knocked out of him. He black out for a moment, the next thing he knew he was waking up, watching as his friends had encircled Sagittaria and were attacking all at once. Sagittaria's eyes glowed a bright yellow and a force field of arrow appeared around him. With a loud cry he extended his arms, shooting the arrows out in an arc. The shockwave caught the rangers and sent them flying backwards on the ground.

Tommy was swept up in the shockwave and crashed into Billy as the two landed back on the ground. Groaning, Tommy pushed himself up, clenching his eyes shut, struggling hard to keep from demorphing. According to the groans around him, Tommy could tell his friends were having the same struggle.

Sagittaria laughed as he started to walk over towards them. Bending down as he went, he picked up Kimberly's power bow and tested the bow as he pulled it back. "This should be fun," he said. "I wonder what sort of power I can deal out with this."

"My power bow," Kimberly whimpered.

"We have to get it back," Bailey groaned.

"Who knows what astounding power he will be able to disengage with the use of her Power Bow," Billy added. He stumbled to his feet, swaying with the effort. "Let's try the Power Cannon. It may be our only chance."

"Right." Tommy and the rangers stood up. Tommy moved in front of the rest of his friends. He thrust a hand into the air. "Prepare to receive power canon." The rangers all held out their hands and the power cannon appeared on their shoulders. "Brace. Lock and Load." Holding out their free hands, a colorful ball appeared in each of the ranger's hands.

"Pink charge!" Kimberly placed her ball into the chamber.

"Yellow charge."

"White charge."

"Red charge."

"Blue charge."

"Black charge."

"Purple charge."

"Orange charge."

The rangers held the power cannon once more and Billy and Rocky pushed the plunger at the back of the cannon into position. "Fire!" Tommy called and pulled the trigger. The rangers stumbled backwards at the force of the cannon going off, sending the eight balls forward in a charged blast towards Sagittaria.

Sagittaria summoned an arrow and placed it into Kimberly's power bow. He pulled back on the bow and shot it towards the blast that headed is way. The arrow sliced through the blast, knocking away half of blast, but still getting stuck with the other half. He screamed in rage as he fell to the ground. His hand tightened around the Power Bow, causing it to crack and he got to his feet.

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY ONCE AND FOR ALL!" He shouted.

A bolt of lightning came from the sky and Sagittaria grew to a larger size.

"Should've seen that one coming," Avalon murmured.

"You can say that again," Tommy agreed.

The rangers thrust their hands into the air. "We need Thunderzord power now!"

"Stegosaurus, Phoenix ,Thunderzord Power!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord Power!"

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord Power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord Power!"

"Saber tooth Tiger, Gryphon, Thunderzord Power!"

"Tyrannosaurus, Red Dragon, Thunderzord Power!"

"Tigerzord, Power Up!"

Bailey leapt up into the cockpit of her Ankylosaurus zord. "Bailey here, I'm ready to roll!"

The zords came together to create the Thunder Megazord and the Tiger Thunder Zord with Bailey's Ankylosaurus zord being used as an attachment as a sword. The rangers and Sagittaria battled against each other trading blows and critical hits as the fights went on. There was a time where The Tiger Thunder Zord used the Ankylosaurus sword and struck a mighty blow against Sagittaria, knocking him to the ground. The Thunder Megazord then followed it up with a charged up blow from their Power Sword.

Sagittaria got back to his feet and sent out a harsh wave of arrows with Kimberly's Power Bow. The power being used back against them had become stronger due to the evil that coursed through Sagittaria as well as utilizing the power of goodness that was already residing in the bow due to it belonging to Kimberly.

The warring powers of light and darkness increased the power of the bow, causing whoever to hold it to have the utmost power and it was dealing a heavy blow to the rangers as the seconds passed. As the battle raged on, Goldar and Scorpina arrived on scene and watched as Sagittaria continued to fend off both Zords with little to no difficulty. He continued to create arrows as the seconds passed and when he had enough, he combined all of the arrows together into one giant one.

"Oh no!" Aisha gasped.

"This doesn't look good," Rocky added.

"Everybody hang on!" Tommy shouted.

"Take this, rangers!" Sagittaria pulled the massive arrow back in the bow and let go, sending it flying forward at astonishing speeds.

The Thunder Megazord and Tiger Thunder Zord took the devastating blow with a direct hit. The sensors overloaded, there was too much power for the protective shields and the zord crumbled apart. The rangers were ejected from the zord and with loud, terrified screams, fell to the ground where they crash landed, demorphing as soon as they hit the ground.

Scorpina and Goldar exchanged a look.

Now was their chance.

Sagittaria returned to his normal size and Goldar and Scorpina flanked his sides as they headed over towards the power rangers. It was finally time for them to become victorious against those that had continued to beat them over and over again.

Tommy curled up in a ball as his body absorbed the crushing pain. It was the worst pain he had ever felt, every nerve of his body screaming. He squinted his eyes open, the groans and moans from his friends alluding that they were feeling the same. Beside him, he could see Kimberly holding her arm to her chest, her face screwed up in pain. Tears streaked through her dust covered face and she cringed as another wave of pain wracked through her body.

"C'mon guys," he could hear Rocky say behind him. "We have to keep fighting."

Slowly pushing himself up, Tommy turned to face the direction the red ranger was staring in. He felt his heart sink to his stomach, then to his feet, then all the way through the ground when he spotted Sagittaria, Scorpina, and Goldar had reverted back to his smaller size and was slowly walking towards them, all laughing evilly as they approached the rangers.

"What can we do?" Kimberly asked. "They're too strong for us."

"There's always something we can do," Avalon insisted. "We just,"—she paused, wincing as she wrapped an arm around her ribs—"We just need to think of it."

"Can you think faster?" Adam grimaced.

The rangers shrank back as the three monsters continued to advance upon them. They were too injured to get out of the way and could only watch helplessly as their inevitable doom descended upon them. Then something implausible happened.

It looked like an accident. Goldar and Scorpina slowed down slightly, enough so that Sagittaria could get ahead of them. Quick as a flash, the two golden monsters adjusted their grips on their swords, pulled their arms back and surged them forward.

A startled cry hung in the air.

Sagittaria stopped in his tracks; the menacing expression that had been on his face didn't change. Frozen, he could only shift his eyes downward to see the tips of the two swords sticking out of his chest. Blood pooled around the tip, sending a steady stream splashing against the ground, making a dull padding sound as each drip hit the dust. There was the distinct sound of metal scraping against metal as Scorpina and Goldar pulled their swords back out of the monster's body, leaving cavernous wounds. Sagittaria breathed in a wet, sucking sound that resembled squishing fruit, causing the rangers to moan in disgust.

Sagittaria's mouth cracked open and blood rolled down his chin. He sucked in another nauseating breath, his eyes rolled up, and he pitched forward onto the ground. To finish him off, Goldar walked around to the front of Sagittaria and made one fell swing with his sword. Sagittaria's head rolled away, coming to a stop with its eyes pointed over towards Scorpina and Goldar.

Tommy reached out and grabbed Kimberly and Bailey, shielding their eyes against his chest.

Aisha tucked her head, lowering her gaze to the ground, Avalon and Adam closed their eyes, Rocky and Billy turned away, bringing up a hand to shield their eyes.

Scorpina chuckled to herself as she brought her sword up to her mouth. She lightly pressed the tip against her lips and reached out her tongue, slowly licking the blood off the front. Bringing her tongue back into her mouth, she licked the excess blood off of her lips before lovingly stroking her blade. Then she moved her eyes over to Goldar and looked at him with adulation in her eyes.

She reached out and looped her arms through his, gently stroking his forearm. "Mission accomplished," she cooed.

Goldar let out a roar of satisfaction, thrusting his sword high into the air. His red eyes gleamed in triumph. He let out another horrendous cheer, this time Scorpina's wicked laugh joined in with his. "We'll see you again, Power Rangers!"

The two gold monsters disappeared in a flash of flames leaving the rangers to come to terms with what they had just seen.


	35. Secrets Revealed (About Face)

**Chapter 35**

_Secret Revealed_

_Aka_

_About Face_

* * *

 

Aisha stretched her arms over her head—they were still incredibly sore from the fight with Sagittaria—before turning to the little puppy that sat quietly on the examining table in front of her. Moving forward, she ran her fingers over its cheeks and eras, murmuring loving words to it. The puppy gently stuck out its tongue and started to lick her hand.

"Aww." Aisha laughed and continued to scratch the dog before she moved out of the way so the vet could do its routine checkup. "How's it looking? I _really_ want this dog to get adopted today! He really deserves it." She looked up at Dr. Newhouse, waiting for her response.

Dr. Newhouse made a 'tsk' sound and lowered the stethoscope from her ears before reaching out to pet the puppy as well. She then looked over at Aisha and gave the yellow ranger a sly smile. "You're only saying that because you want to take this dog yourself."

"If I'm allowed," Aisha admitted. She reached out and continued to run her hands over the puppy. She couldn't help the smile that wormed its way over her face. "I don't like to leave animals in places like this. They all deserve a nice home. And if I can do that…then I want to be able to do the best for them."

Her smile widening, Dr. Newhouse reached over to the counter beside her and picked up a leash. "That's what the animal shelter in Stone Canyon said," she said. The yellow ranger looked at her in confusion. "I called to ask for a reference when you applied to work here in the first place," She admitted. Turning back, the doctor handed the leash over to Aisha. "Why don't you take him out for a walk in the park? He could use the exercise and I know you're dying to spend as much time as you can with this puppy before he's taken to a good home."

"Yeah, hopefully mine," Aisha agreed. She thought about it for a moment before taking the leash and attaching it to the collar. "I'd love to take it for a walk! My friends are at the park anyway; maybe I can get one of them to adopt the dog if I can't have it." She reached out and gently lifted the puppy off the bench and placed him on the floor. "I'll have him back soon. See you later!" With a wave, she led the puppy out the door and headed towards the park.

Tilting her head back, the yellow ranger sucked in a deep breath and watched the colorful sky of Angel Grove as the clouds slid by the yellow disc in the sky. She hadn't moved that far away from her home in Stone Canyon and yet things were strangely different. Not only had she become one of the heroes of the city, she had been pleasantly surprised by the lengths the people of Angel Grove were grateful to them. In fact, while she had been in Stone Canyon, she, Rocky, and Adam talked about what the power rangers were doing and why it was Angel Grove that was constantly being attacked.

Of course that then sent Rocky into some sort of a paranoid tailspin and he started to research even more into the power rangers and the patterns of the monsters that were set in. Aisha and Adam had only laughed when he started to talk about them more and more because of it. They knew that Rocky was worried about taking care of his brothers and sisters but was too proud to really admit it.

With a sigh of content, Aisha moved the leash to her other hand and gently tugged at it to move the puppy along as it had stopped to smell a bunch of flowers. It moved away and trotted along beside her, looking more animated then than it had before. Kind of like her and her two best friends. Having to make the decision, as well as to convince their parents to move to the "monster capital of the world" as Adam called it, had been hard and even she had been skeptical about it. But as long as the trio was together she knew she would be OK.

And now she had Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Avalon, and Bailey as friends to show them the ropes as well as to be good friends to them. She knew they had been hesitant when they first came around, having replaced their friends and while there were still tensions here and there, mostly in battles, they were at least getting better.

Reaching the park, Aisha led the dog over to her friends where she could see that they were playing a game of football. She laughed, watching as Bailey caught the ball that Billy had thrown to her and was starting to run around Adam. Tommy, who appeared to be on her team as well, ran up behind her, picked her up, and ran her into the end zone and placed her down. The two cheered and Bailey spiked the ball into the ground before they started to do a funny dance, causing the rangers and Fred to burst out laughing.

"That's not fair!" Kimberly protested, although she was laughing as well. "That shouldn't count as a touchdown!" Her arm, which had been badly sprained in the fall from the Thunder Megazord, was bandaged, though she didn't appear harmed otherwise.

"Ah, you're just being a sore loser that I got that sneak attack on you," Fred said with a wave of a hand. "Just when you were about to get that touchdown too." He laughed when the pink ranger stuck her nose in the air and turned away from him.

"Don't worry about it, Kim." Rocky reached out and gently knocked her on the shoulder. "You, Adam, and I are still ahead. We can beat them." He turned and noticed Aisha walking towards them and then grinned and waved towards her. "'Sha! Come play with us! We're losing badly!"

"Like that's a shock!" Tommy shot back. He flexed his muscles. "You're looking at the quarter back of the football team." He then motioned over to Billy who had jogged over as Aisha neared the group. "And the best running back you've ever seen."

"Please don't try to talk me up, man," Billy said with a half smile. "Next thing I know I'm going to be proving that on the field and I'll get run over by a mack truck." He laughed along with his friends before turning to Aisha and stooping down to pet the Labrador puppy that had reared up on its hind legs and started to lick his shin. "Who's this little guy?"

"Puppy!" Bailey squealed, dropping to her knees and starting to pet it as well. She ran her hands over his back, giggling as it turned its head and licked her palms, tail wagging harder than ever.

"Aww, it's so cute!" Kimberly squatted down and started to pet it as well. She flipped her hair up over her shoulder and smiled up at the yellow ranger. "Where'd you get him, Aisha? Is he yours?"

Aisha rolled her eyes. "I wish," she admitted. "No, I was working at the animal shelter and this little guy is looking for a home. I'm taking him for a walk before bringing him back for his bath to be sure it'll get adopted by a good family."

"Anyone would be lucky to have this little fella," Tommy agreed.

Rocky let out a slight groaning sound and tilted his head back as he started to laugh, running his hands over his face. He turned his bright smile over to the yellow ranger once more. "I can already see where this is going," he said.

With attitude, the yellow ranger crossed her arms over her chest. "And where, Rockwell is this going?"

"You and animals are joint at the hip, Aisha," Rocky pointed out. "Even when we were kids you were always crying to me or Adam about some kitten or puppy or turtle or frog you've found that your parents wouldn't let you keep." He reached out and gently nudged Adam's arm. "Remember how your mother freaked out because she found that snake that Aisha made you hide in your room for her?"

Adam laughed and nodded. "I remember," he agreed. "My Mom thought it got in through some crack in the wall or something and we weren't allowed to have the front door or back door open for more than a few seconds before she started to hyperventilate."

"How was _I_ supposed to know she was deathly terrified of snakes?" Aisha defended herself. "I _said_ I was sorry."

"And yet she still freaks herself out, thinking she sees something moving when nothing's there," Adam reminded her. The group started laughing one more and he shook Aisha's shoulder as she rolled her eyes once more. "I know you're going to find a great home for him, Aisha. If not your own home."

"Thanks guys." Aisha beamed and bent down, starting to pet the puppy as well. She started to speak as well, but a loud, sing-song voice sounded behind them.

"Hey, you guyyyyys!"

The rangers and Fred turned to see Avalon practically skipping over to them as she headed their way. The orange flannel shirt that was tied around her waist fluttered behind them as she ran over. Aisha stood up and watched as Avalon came to a stop beside them, eyes bright and wide with excitement. Neither Aisha, nor the other rangers had seen her that happy. Even Bailey hadn't seen the smile on her sister's face in years and was pleasantly surprised to see her sister so happy.

"Hey Av, what's going on?" Kimberly asked her.

"Yeah, you look like your face is about to split wide open," Tommy agreed. He placed his hands on his hips as he looked down at the shortest ranger, not including her sister. "What's got you so happy?"

"I got a job!" Avalon exclaimed. "Finally." She practically bounced on her toes as she pulled her long, thick hair behind her shoulders. "I'm working at the bookstore a couple of blocks away from Ernie's. I just finished my interview and they gave me a job right on the spot."

"You?" Bailey looked skeptical. "Selling books? You know you have to actually be _nice_ to people right?" Avalon reached out and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck, pulling her into her body and rocking her back and forth. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I'm happy for you, Av." She brought up her arms and gave her sister a hug.

"Congratulations," Billy added. "You've been looking for a job for a while."

"I know," Avalon agreed. "I was actually starting to give up hope." She scratched the back of her neck. "Now I have time to make sure I don't get caught up in things again."

"What things?" Adam asked her.

Avalon fell silent and shrugged. Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Bailey, and Fred stayed silent as well. Aisha exchanged a glance with Rocky and Adam. Once again, they were being left out of something and they didn't have any idea what. What was it going to take for them to b brought into the loop? To be completely trusted so that they could fight alongside the rangers and to have each other's backs.

 _Will they ever really trust us?_ Aisha thought.

Kimberly broke the silence by clasping her hands together and glancing around at the group. "Why don't we go to the Youth Center and have smoothies to celebrate Av's job? My treat."

"You shouldn't have said that," Avalon and Bailey harmonized, giving similar smiles.

"Why?"

"Because these two eat like crazy," Billy commented, pointing over to the orange and purple rangers. "Mom and Dad are constantly going to the store because there's something we're always running out of."

"Is it our fault that we're healthy and growing?" Bailey shot back.

"Hey, if it's food and I'm not paying, I'm in," Rocky agreed.

"I'll meet you guys there," Aisha said. She gently tugged o the leash and pulled the puppy back from Billy's leg as it continued to lick him. "I have to finish taking this guy for a walk and take him back to the shelter." She waved to the rangers and walked the dog off in the opposite direction as her friends gathered their things and headed off towards the Youth Center.

Aisha and the puppy did a quick lap around the park and had started to do a second one when the puppy pulled on the leash and started to bark loudly. Frowning, Aisha pulled back on the leash, but the puppy continued to pull harder and harder until the yellow ranger lost her grip and the puppy started to race towards a lone girl that sat on a blanket in the middle of the park. Aisha ran after the puppy as fast as she could, watching as the puppy jumped into the girls' lap, causing her to let out a startled shriek.

"No! Down! Bad dog!" Aisha skidded to a stop beside the girl and reached out, immediately taking the puppy from her. "I'm so sorry. He got away from me, I didn't realize—"she paused and looked at the girl, immediately recognizing her. "Oh! Sabrina! Hey!"

"Hi." Sabrina smiled shyly before standing up and brushing off the seat of her pants. "Is this your dog?"

"Not really," Aisha said. She juggled the puppy in her arms as he continued to glare at the Asian teenage girl. "I'm just taking him for a walk." She jumped, startled, as the puppy started to growl. "I'm sorry; I don't know what's gotten into him. He's usually kind of quiet."

"That's alright," Sabrina replied. "He's really cute. You said he's from the animal shelter?" She raised her eyes from the puppy to Aisha. Aisha returned her gaze then did a double take.

Had she seen a red flash in the girl's eyes?

 _I've seen that before,_ Aisha thought. The same day they had introduced themselves to the class, Aisha had seen that same sort of red flash in the girl's eyes. Not only was it not normal, but she couldn't shake that feeling that there was something seriously wrong. And her gut was never wrong.

"Yeah," Aisha said slowly. "He's been there for a while; we're trying to find him a good home."A slight smile tugged at Sabrina's lips and she reached her hand out to pet the puppy. The puppy barked loudly and started to bare its teeth, causing Sabrina to quickly pull her hand away, her eyes a bit sad. "I'm sorry. Like I said…he's normally so well behaved." Sabrina merely smiled and crossed her arms. Aisha continued to bounce the puppy like it was a newborn before addressing Sabrina once more. "So…when those monsters attack the school…what happened? You got away so quickly."

Sabrina hesitated for a minute. "I got out of there as quickly as I could," she said, her voice quieting. "I'm sorry…I didn't know what to do to help."

"But you practice martial arts!"

"I got scared."

There was something about Sabrina's voice when she had admitted that she was scared that resonated with Aisha. It was pure fear. Anyone that would see monsters like Goldar and Scorpina in real life would be downright terrified, but this was different. She didn't know how, but Aisha knew there was something else going on. Her fear had to be warranted by something else other than having seen the monsters in person for the first time. No one could move to Angel Grove without being given some sort of instructions or warning about what to do when there was a monster attack. It was bound to happen.

All of a sudden the barking of the dog was directed behind Aisha and she turned as putties suddenly surrounded her and Sabrina. The two girls gasped loudly and instinctively moved closer together as the circle of putties moved closer to them. Glancing over at the other teenage girl, Aisha tightened her grip on the puppy and lashed out a foot, smacking the putty right in the center of the chest. It immediately crumbled apart in front of them.

"Aim for the 'Z'," she explained to Sabrina. "It's the only way they'll go away!"

Sabrina nodded and fell into a fighting stance; much like the one Adam had seen when he first met her. She immediately sprang into action, using a series of high jumps and spins to strike the putties that came near her. Aisha, still holding not onto the puppy, mainly used her elbows and knees to fight the putties that converged upon her. Throughout the fight, the puppy continued to bark loudly and growl nipping at whatever putty came their way.

On the last few putties, Aisha and Sabrina tag-teamed, mimicking each other's movements as they continued to fight. Finally, the last of the putties crumbled and disappeared from their sight. Aisha turned to Sabrina, who pulled her long hair from her face. There was a fresh bruise on her cheekbone, where she had been struck by a putty, otherwise, she looked OK.

"Are you all right?" Aisha asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah," Sabrina replied. "I'm fine." All of a sudden she brought her hands up and grabbed onto her head. With a loud cry, she fell to her knees. "No! No! Not again!" She whimpered, lowering her forehead to the ground. "Stop! Please!" She screamed loudly, bringing her hands tighter on her head.

Aisha set the puppy on the ground and moved over to Sabrina, grabbing onto her shaking shoulders. "Sabrina? What's going on? Are you OK?" She leaned down and tried to see Sabrina's face, but her long, silky hair covered it completely. "Sabrina!"

"Please, don't let her take me again," Sabrina started to say.

"Who? Who's her? Where's she taking you?" Aisha started to shake the teenage girl. "Sabrina! Sabrina, answer me!" The yellow ranger continued to shake the girl until she rolled over onto her side. Aisha blinked blankly then let out a shriek of fear, scrambling backwards. Sabrina's eyes were now glowing red and she had a look of pure evil on her face.

Sabrina continued to look up at Aisha before she slowly started to laugh and as the seconds passed, Aisha could see she was transforming into something. Her jeans and t-shirt slowly melted away as gold armor covered her body. The laughter increased in volume and malice as she pushed herself up onto her knees and continued to stare hard at Aisha. The yellow ranger's eyes widened as Sabrina's face was covered in the same gold plating.

"Sc…Scorpina?" Aisha breathed.

Scorpina continued to laugh as she disappeared in a burst of flames.

Aisha scrambled to her feet; chest heaving as she stared at the spot Sabrina/Scorpina had just been sitting. "No way," she breathed. She reached over and picked up the puppy, hugging her tight in her arms. She teleported to the animal shelter and quickly brought the puppy inside before teleporting to the Youth Center locker room. She peered around the corner to be sure no one had seen her before hurrying out of the locker room and to her friends, who were gathered around a large table.

"Guys," she said as she hurried over to them.

"Hey Aisha," Kimberly greeted her. "Did you find a home for the puppy yet?"

Aisha shook her head. "Not yet. But I need to talk to you guys about something." Her eyes shifted over to Fred and she hesitated. "It has something to do with…Environment Club," she finished lamely. Receiving confused looks, Aisha widened her eyes slightly before giving the rangers a pointed look.

Billy was the first one to catch on to what she was referring to. He cleared his throat. "Well, this sounds really important," he said. "Is everything OK?"

"No." The yellow ranger shook her head, surprised to find she was still trying to catch her breath. "I just found out something really important. You guys all need to know." Her eyes shifted for a moment. "We should probably get back to the school so I can _show_ you."

"Looks like you guys have something important to work on, "Fred said. He got up from his seat and picked up his backpack before turning to Bailey. "I can walk you home," he offered.

"Sounds good." She shrugged into her own backpack before turning to address her friends. "I'll see you guys later," she said, giving them a look a second longer—silently telling them she'll teleport to the Command Center when she got away from Fred—and followed her friend out of the Youth Center. Once they were gone, Adam turned to his best friend with concern.

"What's going on?" He asked her in a low voice.

"Not here. We need to go to the Command Center."

"Let's go!" Tommy took the lead, pushing back his chair and the rangers stood up and headed towards a secluded area of the Youth Center, leaving their drinks not he table. Tommy glanced around for a moment and the rangers teleported to the Command Center, startling Alpha, who had been running diagnostics on the control panels.

"Rangers! Yikes! Don't scare me like that!" He cried.

"Sorry, Alpha, but this is important, "Aisha apologized to him. She turned to Zordon, who had appeared in his encompassing tube. "Zordon, were you able to get anything on the Viewing Globe from the past twenty minutes?"

Zordon looked down at her with his ever present stern expression. "I apologize, Aisha, but we had been offline for most of the day. What is it that's troubling you?"

Aisha ran her hands over her face and turned to face her friends, who were now watching her, exchanging a glance every now and then. "I know this is going to sound crazy," she started out. "But I promise what I'm telling you is the truth." Her eyes moved around her friends before landing on Adam. "But…Sabrina…"

"Is she OK?" Adam asked, anxiety creeping into his tone.

"She's fine considering," Aisha replied. There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone and she took a deep breath before continuing. "…she's Scorpina."

Avalon was the first to react. She laughed loudly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're kidding, right?" She waved a hand. "I don't think you noticed, but she's a human. Not a gold plated murderous monster."

"I thought the same thing," Aisha protested. "But she's really Scorpina. I saw her transform right in front of me. Before I went back to the animal shelter and before I came to find you guys in the Youth Center." She slapped her hands down against her sides. "I'm telling you the truth, I swear!"

"Her body language suggests that she _is_ telling the truth," Billy pointed out. He brought a hand up to his chin and started to pace back and forth. "There are a few signs that would make sense as to how she would be Scorpina. How else was she able to disappear so quickly when Scorpina arrived at school the first time?"

"Maybe she ran away," Rocky suggested. "If I wasn't a ranger and I had seen those things come around, I would've run away too."

Aisha stared hard at him, crushed. He was one of her best friends, why wouldn't he believe her? And Adam didn't believe her either! Why would she make something like this up? She could hardly get over the intense feeling of betrayal to explain herself.

Tommy and Kimberly exchanged a glance before they looked at Aisha with equal degrees of worry. "I think she's telling the truth," Kimberly agreed. She moved over to Aisha's side and placed a comforting hand on her shoulders. "And if Sabrina _is_ Scorpina…what does that mean for school?"

Aisha quickly jumped in. "It doesn't look like she can control her change," she explained. "When she started, she was begging and screaming, and crying for that side of her not to take her over. I don't think she _wants_ to be Scorpina. Maybe Rita and Zedd have _forced_ her to transform."

"I wouldn't put it past them," Billy commented. "Not only are they doing their best to make sure that we're destroyed, but I wouldn't put it past them to have someone infiltrate the school. Not only would they be able to bring someone close to us and follow our every move, but it's a great way for them to get information on us when we're the most vulnerable."

"She wouldn't do that," Adam protested.

"Under the influence of evil, she might," Avalon said. She rubbed the side of her neck. "Back during the homecoming dance ages ago, Rita and Zedd talked to me about joining their side. I didn't think about it, but the darkness and evil that surrounded them…if anyone gets caught in it, it'll be hard to get out of."

"I've experienced it firsthand," Tommy agreed. "It really _is_ hard to get out of." He put his arm around Kimberly, holding her tightly to his side. His eyes lowered to the floor. "If it weren't for these guys, I wouldn't be here today. In fact, I might _still_ be working for Rita and Zedd."

"So what are we going to do?" Rocky turned to Alpha and Zordon. "Is there anything that we can do to stop the transformation? Something we can do to revert her back to normal?"

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," Zordon said grimly. "There isn't any candle or thing other than Rita's magic and Zedd's evil that's holding her. The only way to get rid of the spell is to have Rita and Zedd break the spell on her which is a feat that is harder than one could imagine."

"I can help her," Adam said firmly. Other than a few outbursts from having heard the news, he had been quiet. Aisha looked over at her friend. He really did appear to want to help her, she noted. But maybe he was putting too much of his feelings in the way. He barely knew her, had only talked to her a few times, and now he was threatening everything they knew for something they didn't know would work. "I can try to talk to her, to reach Sabrina if she's still inside Scorpina."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Billy contradicted. "Not when we have so little information on the subject as it is." He ran a hand through his hair. "If there was any way that I could get a sample of her hair and could test on it, I'd at least have an idea on the molecular level as to what's going on and how her magic has made it so that he could turn into a monster. Even when Tommy was evil he was still human."

All of a sudden there was a purple beam of light and as Bailey teleported into the Command Center. "What'd I miss?" She asked.

"I found out that Sabrina is Scorpina." Aisha relayed the information as quickly as possible. "Now we're trying to figure out what to do."

Bailey's eyes widened as she processed the information. "Wow, to be honest, I'm surprise it took them this long to do that. I mean, what better way to learn about your enemies than to watch their every move, yeah?"

"I thought they did that from the Lunar Palace," Avalon remarked. "It would make sense as to how they always know what we're doing or when to strike. They must've planned this for a while."

"But we fought Scorpina before Tommy became the white ranger," Kimberly protested. "In fact, she was fighting _with_ him when he was the green ranger. So she's always been a monster." She gasped. "Rita and Zedd must've put her soul into Sabrina or something."

"So what can we do to help?" Adam asked again.

"Maybe something with the Healiodore?" Bailey suggested to Billy. "It's supposed to have great power and from what we've seen with Goldar, it does a lot. If it can dish out that much power when someone who is evil has control over it, maybe we can do something with it?"

Billy snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "You're on to something." He turned and hurried out of the main area of the Command Center, taking a right when the doors opened for him.

As they waited for the blue ranger to return, Aisha went to the red and black rangers, frowning at them. "I can't believe you guys didn't stand up for me," she said to them. "If not at least listen to what I had to say."

Adam turned away from her.

"You have to admit, 'Sha, it sounds a bit crazy," Rocky said to her. "We're not saying we don't believe what you have to say. It's just…weird." He ran a hand over the back of his head and turned to the black ranger. "Adam, we're going to do all we can to help her, don't worry." Adam let out a sigh and looked at Aisha for a long moment. She held his gaze and his face softened for a moment before he nodded at the two of them. "See? Everything's going to be alright."

"I hope so."

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha went over to the rangers as Billy came back, carefully holding onto the Azurite Healiodore in a piece of cloth. It shone a bright blue for a moment before returning to its green color.

"So what are we supposed to do with it?" Avalon asked, studying the gem with interest. "How are we supposed to get the power from it?"

"Goldar seemed to have gotten the power directly from touch," Billy replied.

"But you touched it already and it didn't really do anything," Bailey pointed out to him.

"It's just a theory we won't know what'll happen if we don't' try. Besides, I'm afraid of chipping part of it off to look at it under a microscope and all of the scanners that we have here don't give us any readings over than it holding immense power."

"We should try it," Tommy said after a minute. "We won't figure anything out if we don't at least try. Right?" He brought out his hand, hesitantly holding it over the Azurite Healiodore. The other rangers glanced at each other before doing the same. On Tommy's nod, they all placed their hands on top of the gem. There was a bright white glow and when it faded, the rangers found themselves lying on the ground, the Healiodore gently lying on the floor.

Billy scrambled over to it and picked it up, inspecting it for damage. Certain that the gem hadn't sustained any cracks or fissures, he covered it back up. His eyebrows furrowed together when he noticed it was now glowing all of the colors of the rainbow, like the Power Cube had done before it fell apart.

"What happened?" Rocky rubbed the back of his head. "That was the worst I've ever passed out."

"Rangers are you OK?" Alpha warbled.

"We're fine, Alpha," Bailey reassured her friend. She sat up, looking over at their mentor. "Zordon, what was that?"

"I believe the Healiodore may have taken on some of your powers, rangers," Zordon said. "It is reacting the same way the Power Cube had done before you got your extra abilities. Goldar excessive use of it before it fell into your hands may have made it susceptible to its destruction so it needed your power to rejuvenate itself."

At his words, Kimberly and Avalon both held out their hands, trying to conjure their powers or wind and fire, but nothing happened. No matter how hard they concentrated they couldn't conjure up a flame or tiny wind, their hands didn't even glow.

"That's what happened to me after I picked it up," Billy noted. "Remember when I had tried to use my water powers in the fight with Sagittaria?" Eyebrows twitching, he turned to Avalon. "And I'll bet that you lost your second ranger abilities."

 _Second ranger?_ Aisha questioned. _What does that mean?_

With that, all eyes turned to the orange ranger, who looked startled. She started to run towards the doors to the Command Center, but only moved at a jog. "Great," she sighed. "Now I actually _have_ to work out to still be strong." She scowled. "Why did Jason have to be right?"

"This little piece of rock took part of our powers?" Rocky asked. "Does that mean we're not as strong as we used to be? What if Goldar and Scorpina attack again? What'll happen then?"

"We're going to have to wait until they do to see," Billy admitted. "Right now, we need to keep our guard up around everyone who knows what they could be hiding."

 _You mean, who knows what you're hiding from us,_ Aisha thought. Seeing there wasn't anything else they could do, the rangers teleported from the Command Center and headed their separate ways. "Do you guys want to come over and do some homework?" Aisha asked Rocky and Adam. "I'm sure Mom and Dad won't mind if you guys stick around for dinner."

"Count me in!" Rocky immediately agreed.

With a smile, Aisha turned towards the black ranger. "What about you, Adam?"

He smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "No, I think I'm just going to head home. I'll see you guys later." He turned on his heel and walked off down the sidewalk. Aisha sighed as she watched his retreating back.

"If I knew he was going to be this upset, I wouldn't have said anything," Aisha said.

"Don't worry Aisha, he'll come around," Rocky reassured her.

"I hope so."

* * *

 

Kimberly sighed in content and leaned into Tommy as he gently brushed the strap to her tank top off her shoulder and rested his warm hand on the bare skin. His other hand was in her hair as he gently kissed her.

This was more like it.

There was no better way than spending time with her boyfriend that she felt could erase the frustration and worry. Finally being able to spend some time alone was what she really needed. Especially after the countless hours of gymnastics practices she had been putting in lately. And he was busy with his school work—remembering it anyway—and his own martial arts classes along with their ranger duties that they were spending less and less time together. After the news they had heard that day, of Sabrina and Scorpina and having had their extra abilities taken away, they really deserved a break.

And since her mother was going to be gone for a while, there was no better time for them to be alone. It had been innocent at first; they were just going to be working on their homework together like they had always done. But then Tommy had lifted the bottom of his shirt to be sure that his bandages, which had been wrapped around his ribs since the fight with Sagittaria, were holding in place. The pink ranger had only gotten a glimpse of his tight chest and hard abs, but she found herself staring at him long enough for him to lower his shirt, lift his head, and notice.

"See something you like?" He teased her.

"Definitely," Kimberly had replied. "Being able to see how muscular you are is always fun for me." She threw in a wink and a giggle for added affect and Tommy grinned. Then she was swept up in his arms and they were kissing each other, enjoying each other's company.

Tommy bent his head down and started to kiss Kimberly's neck, trailing light kisses along the skin and gently nipping at it. The tickling sensation made tiny giggles escape Kimberly's lips. She could feel him start to smile against her neck as he continued to kiss her. He kissed down her shoulder, down her arm, and into her palm before squeezing her hand in his, bringing it to be held against his cheek.

Kimberly looked deep into his eyes and he looked back at her. She knew what he was feeling, she felt the same way. They didn't have to say anything. Smiling lovingly at the white ranger, the pink ranger leaned in and gave him a long kiss, gently sliding down onto her back against the pillows on her bed, pulling Tommy on top of her as she went.

They continued to kiss, completely entranced with each other. Kimberly was shaking in anticipation, but she loved Tommy and knew he loved her and she wasn't making a mistake. She grasped the bottom of his shirt in her hand and gently tugged at it.

The distant sound of the door opening caught her attention only moments before she heard her mother's outraged cry of, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Tommy and Kimberly immediately sat up, moving so fast that Tommy was launched off of the bed and crash landed onto the floor. Kimberly adjusted the strap to her tank top and looked at her mother, eyes wide. "Mom! We were just…I mean…we were…"

"We were just studying, Mrs. Hart," Tommy said, popping up to his knees. He shuffled over to his books and started to gather them together. "I'm sorry."

"Tommy, you don't have to go," Kimberly protested.

"Yes, Kimberly, I believe he does." The icy tone of Kimberly's mother wasn't lost on the rangers. Tommy moved faster to get his things. He zipped up his backpack and checked to be sure he had everything before turning to Kimberly. He hesitated before giving her a small wave and ducked his head, scurrying by the pink ranger's mother before hurrying out of the room.

Kimberly watched him leave, her heat hammering against her chest. How could her mother embarrass her like that? She said as much. "Mom, you totally embarrassed me!"

"What's embarrassing is coming home and finding my daughter in bed with her boyfriend when I'm not here," Mrs. Hart replied. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her daughter. "What would've happened if I didn't come home right now? Would I be a grandmother in nine months?" Kimberly's mouth dropped open.

"You don't understand!"

" _You_ don't understand, Kimmie. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and emotions like that, but you're not ready for this sort of thing."

Kimberly continued to gape at her mother. She could feel her cheeks flush. How could her mother do this? How could she keep treating her like a child and then embarrass her like that? She truly didn't understand. She was in love with Tommy and if they _had_ decided to take that step, there wasn't anything her mother could do about it. "Mom, I love him," she protested.

Mrs. Hart chuckled. "Sweetie, you're not old enough to know what love is."

"Yes, I do! Mom, I love Tommy. I love being around him, I love being there for him, I love how he's there for me! I don't know what I'd do without him." She grabbed her cushions in her hands, gently tugging at them. "Don't you understand? Haven't you been in love before? You're dating now, don't you want to fall in love with someone."

"We're not talking about my dating habits right now, Kim, we're talking about yours." Mrs. Hart rubbed her forehead then gave her daughter a long look. "I'm sorry, but I think you and Tommy need to have a break from each other. To have some time to yourselves. You're getting too serious, too fast. And I don't like it."

Kimberly's eyes widened in horror. _No._ "You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can. You need to focus on something other than your boyfriend. All you ever do now is go out with him and you're always coming back late and with no explanation for what you've been doing."

 _How can I explain to her about being a power ranger?_ Kimberly thought, frustrated. It was so much easier to say she was with Tommy, because she _was._ It was an easy excuse. "But Mom, you don't—"

"That's final, Kimberly," Mrs. Hart said. She strode from the room, closing the door behind her.

Kimberly picked up her pillow and threw it at the door.

* * *

 

Avalon followed Billy and Bailey into their house, kicking off their shoes and piling them by the front door. "I hope you're not planning on locking yourself in your lab to obsessively work on the Healiodore," she said to the blue ranger, who glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. "Zordon and Alpha don't even know how the thing works."

The blue ranger regarded her with a smirk. "Actually, I was going to suggest to my parents that we have whatever you want for dinner. Y'know, considering the fact that we had to cut short your celebration at the Youth Center."

Avalon's eyes narrowed and she exchanged a suspicious glance with her sister. "You're up to something, aren't you?" The purple ranger asked.

"It's like Ava said, I don't want to be a hermit," Billy said. He shrugged. "And admittedly, none of us know what's going on with the Healiodore. There's no point in obsessing over it." Avalon and Bailey exchanged another suspicious glance. "What?"

"Nothing," they said finally.

"You're just…not acting like yourself," Bailey admitted. "Is something wrong?"

"I can't be nice?" Billy protested with an easy going smile.

"I mean, you're a nice person, Smurf," Avalon cocked her head.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Hardly. I like that you're so nice, but still. Skipping a day of work in your lab?"

"After everything that's been going on lately, I think we need to focus on the positive things that happen," he explained himself. The three walked out of the foyer and further into the house. Billy stopped by the kitchen counter and picked up the stack of mail that had been left there. He flipped through it before handing a letter over to Avalon, who had pulled herself up onto the counter and started into an apple she pulled from the fruit bowl.

Eyebrows rising in surprise, she turned the envelope over in her hand and started to open it.

"So what do you want for dinner, Av?" Bailey asked, spreading out her homework along the counter. "Spaghetti? Chooks and Mashed Potatoes? Brekkie?"

"Chooks?" Billy repeated. He squinted an eye. "Chicken?"

"You got it!" The purple ranger beamed. Realizing she hadn't gotten a response from her sister, she turned to her and watched as the orange ranger folded up the paper and placed it on the counter beside her. "Is everything alright Av?"

"Yep."

"Who's the letter from?"

Avalon took a large bite of her apple. "No one."


	36. Where Do I Belong?

**Chapter 36**

_Where Do I Belong?_

* * *

 

"You guys, you're not going to believe this."

Looking up from his lunch, Billy leaned back in his seat and watched as Kimberly skipped over to the lunch table he, Avalon, Rocky, and Adam had occupied while waiting for the rest of their friends to finish their classes and join them.

Kimberly slapped a flier down onto the table and sat down, quickly pulling off her backpack before sliding her tray down as well. She leaned forward and continuously jabbed her index finger against the sheet of paper.

"What is it, girl?" Rocky joked. "Are you trying to tell us that Timmy fell down the well again?" He and Avalon laughed as Billy and Adam smiled. Kimberly rolled her eyes and playfully pushed him on the shoulder before picking up the sheet of paper and looked it over.

"No, check this out," she said. "I was coming out of my Home Ec. Class and saw this flier on the wall. They're taking students on a trip to a school that works in the same program as Angel Grove. What they're doing is taking the students and allowing them to see what life is like in another country and later they're going to do the same here. We'll be able to see the school and the shops and the museums and stay there for about a week."

"That sounds cool," Billy said. "Not only would you be able to immerse yourself in the culture of the other nation state, but then you'd also be able to have the other customs come here and make a sort of rapport that could create a sort of alliance that would benefit us as life goes on." He took a bite of his sandwich then bobbed his head. "Not including the fact that it would be a great experience overall."

"Yeah, but get this," Kimberly said. She glanced over at Avalon, who made a face, her eyes shifting back and forth for a moment as if wondering why she was being looked at. Then again, from what Billy had seen, she didn't like having a lot of attention on her and was probably fighting off the fight vs. flight reaction she had gotten used to. "The place they're doing the exchange for…is Australia. The whole grade gets to go."

Avalon's face twitched for a moment before she sat up straight, her eyes widening. "No way!" She reached out and grabbed the sheet of paper from the pink ranger and looked it over. Adam and Billy leaned over to read it over her shoulders.

Yep, the trip was being held in Australia. For a week, not including the days where they would be flying, they would be immersing themselves in the culture as well as being able to have a vacation in general. They would be staying in some of the better hotels, probably due the money that the class treasurers had held over from the dances and fund raisers that had done earlier. There would be plenty of opportunities to go shopping and out in the ocean as well as to being able to see Ayers rock and other aboriginal places. It seemed like it would be a really great trip.

The orange ranger's eyes lit up. "You mean I get to go home?" She asked.

"Well, it's only for a week," Rocky reminded her gently.

"I don't care if I'm able to go home for a _day_ ," Avalon replied. "I can't believe it. I'm going home." She pushed back her seat, leaving her lunch on the table. "I have to go find Mr. Kaplan to ask him a few things. I'll see you later, yeah?" She picked up her backpack and ran out of the cafeteria, leaving her food on the table.

" _Someone_ looks excited," Kimberly giggled watching her friend push some people out of her way before disappearing around the corner.

"I don't think I've even seen Rocko as excited, "Adam said. "Not even when a buffet is spread out in front of him." He laughed and the red ranger, who had been chewing on a corn dog, threw the stick at his friend. The table erupted into laughter and crossed his arms, leaning against the table. "If she likes living in Australia so much, why did she move out here to Angel Grove?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Rocky mumbled, a large bulge of food in the side of his mouth as he chomped away. Kimberly and Billy exchange glances. Not only was it hard to discern what was and wasn't off limits in conversation, but they didn't know what the ramifications of it getting out would be. Especially considering how many people could hear their conversation and spread it around.

"It's something you'll have to ask her about," Billy finally said. "It's not our place to tell." Kimberly nodded and Rocky and Adam shrugged before continuing into their food. The blue ranger looked up to give Kimberly a look then frowned when he saw that she had stiffened and resembled a deer in headlights as she looked behind him.

His frown increasing, Billy turned around and watched as Tommy and Aisha walked their way. Tommy seemed to have the same sort of expression that Kimberly had and even hesitated a moment, looking like he wanted to turn around and walk away, but continued towards the table. Aisha greeted her friends as they sat down and Tommy just made a low grunting sound, a cross between a greeting and a sound of acknowledgement, lowering his eyes and starting into his tray of food.

"So what's going on?" Aisha asked, her ever present smile on her face. Billy was surprised with how much she reminded him of Zack. Even down to her dancing, even if she wasn't as big of a dancer as Zack was—thankfully she wasn't constantly busting out moves down the hallway—her energy and happiness definitely rivaled that of the black ranger. He suddenly felt sad, wondering what his former friends were up to and made a mental note to remind himself to give them a call or email them to see what was going on.

"Check this out." Rocky took the flier Avalon left behind and held it out to the white and yellow rangers. They looked it over and nodded their agreement, Aisha's smile widening. "The whole grade is going. It's going to be awesome! I've always wanted to travel abroad. I just didn't think that the first place I'd be able to go would be to Australia."

"Me neither," Aisha agreed. "I have to make sure that I have my passport ready to go."

"I think that—"

"It should be cool to—"

Kimberly and Tommy paused as they stared to speak at the same time. They waited for the other to continue and when a few seconds of silence passed, they started again and one again spoke in unison. Then stopped and turned away, deciding not to say anything. Billy, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha exchanged confused glances. This was definitely not the Tommy and Kimberly they knew. Especially considering they were sitting on opposite sides of the table when they were usually nested in each other's arms and smiling as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Now they could barely look at each other.

Things must've been worse than Billy thought for Kimberly only last a few more minutes before she leapt to her feet, mumbling something about having to go to her flower club meeting. That had a slight possibility of being rue as it was clubs period after lunch was over, but she definitely didn't need to get going at that point. No, something was wrong.

Billy leapt to his feet and made a quick excuse before following Kimberly out of the cafeteria. He headed out into the hallway and spotted her walking away, quickly, her head down and arms crossed. "Kim!" He hurried after her and grabbed onto her arm, pulling her to a stop. Kimberly tried and failed to give him a smile and turned her gaze away. "Kim, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Billy," she tried to reassure him. But he wasn't buying it.

"I know you better than that, Kimberly; I know something's bothering you." Billy turned her face towards his and looked hard at her. He could see tears already starting to collect in her eyes and quickly wiped them away. "Did Tommy do something?" He studied her for a long moment, mind quickly moving through the many things that could've upset her. "He didn't say that shoe shopping was stupid, did he?"

The pink ranger finally managed a small smile, shoving him away from her. Everyone knew that badmouthing any shopping in general—though shoes seemed to be the pink ranger's weakness—was a mistake you didn't make twice. Billy was highly aware what was bothering his friend wasn't as simple as that. Her body language disputed it as well as he had never seen her cry over it before. It had to be something that was deeply hurting her that would cause her to break down as badly as she was.

Kimberly was stronger than many gave her credit for and Billy really admired that about her. But now she was breaking down quicker than he had ever seen.

"What _is_ it, Kim?" He pressed gently.

"My Mom…" Kimberly reached up and wiped away a few more tears. "My _mother_ ,"—Billy couldn't miss the bitterness in her tone—"won't let me see Tommy anymore." Billy's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "I know," She agreed, seeing the quick shift of his facial features. "It's…it's just really….I don't know…" she took a deep breath, bowing her head.

"What…what made her say that?"

A light tinge of pink filled her cheeks, much more than the blush that she put on did. "Well…we were just hanging out…and studying…and we were kind of, getting involved and Mom came into the room and she freaked out and said I couldn't see her anymore. I tried telling her that our relationship is different and that we're in love with each other but she wouldn't listen and now I'm not allowed to see him." Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed even further towards the floor.

"Aww, Kim, I'm sorry," Billy apologized to her. "I know exactly how you feel." He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she started to cry softly. He still felt a little angry when he remembered how Mr. and Mrs. Kwan were completely against his going out with Trini when they wanted her to have an arranged marriage with a Vietnamese man. Trini had been the one that said 'screw it' to her parents and continued to date Billy anyway.

And yet, it still hurt whenever he thought about her and how she decided to leave anyway. It hurt more than any of the fights with the putties and monsters because it was emotionally and mentally draining at him day after day. The physical pain from fights healed over time, but the emotional pain he felt from her leaving when he had finally opened up to her about his feelings for her. He didn't know if he would ever get over that. Things were getting better now that he didn't focus on it.

 _Focus on it, you avoid the topic as much as you can,_ Billy thought to himself. _You lock yourself in your lab to hide away from the world around you because you keep thinking about her wherever you go._ He pushed the thought out of his head and continued to focus his attention on Kimberly as she started to settle down.

"It really sucks." Kimberly took a step back, wiping at her eyes. "I don't understand how Trini was able to handle it so well."

Billy gave her a sad smile. "You know Trini; she always cares about other people before her. She cared about making her parents happy and you know how she's always talked about going to Vietnam since she was a little kid, to see what it was like." He shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "No one thought it would be this soon for her to go."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. She brushed her hair out of her face. "It's just so hard, having to see him every day, knowing that I can't…"

"Kim. Your mother said you can't go out with him anymore…she didn't say anything about actually _seeing_ him. And you're a power ranger. Your bond through that is more important than anything else and not even your mother can break through that."

Kimberly gazed at him in surprise. The blue ranger had always been the one that followed the rules and listened whenever a person of authority told him to do something. He did all of his homework on time if not way ahead of time, he hesitated whenever there was a moment that he would be breaking the rules, and believed that it was best for everyone to live up to the standards that were placed on them early on. It had quickly been put on the back burner as he was constantly placed with different scenarios that had him break the rules or what he originally thought was right.

Kimberly lifted her head and looked at the blue ranger for a long moment before smiling and nodding. "You're right, Billy. I don't know…why I didn't think of that!" She reached out and grabbed onto his arm. "I have to talk to Tommy. If he will, it was hard for me to break the news to him in the first place; I hope he listens to me."

"He loves you, Kim, everyone can see that," Billy reminded her. "Nothing can break you two, apart. Not Rita, not Zedd, not even this."

"Thanks, Billy." Kimberly reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing him to blush. "I'll see you later." She flashed him her famous Kimberly smile and squeezed his arm once more before flouncing off down the hallway with renewed energy. Billy chuckled as went off.

Nothing could ever keep her down for too long.

He wished he was able to do that as well.

Turning to follow her, he spotted Avalon striding his way, a deep-rooted scowl on her face a very sharp contrast from the excited smile she had been sporting a few minutes before. "Hey Ava," he said to her.

"Rack off, Billy," she snapped, passing him.

Billy was immediately stung. It wasn't until that moment that he noticed she rarely ever called him by his name, usually only referring to him as 'Smurf'. It was jarring to hear his name come out of her mouth with such malice. Especially considering he hadn't done anything that he could think of that would've angered her so much.

"Wait, what's wrong?" He followed her to her locker and watched as she pulled open the door and hid her face inside, grabbing her things. "You were just so happy a few minutes ago."

"Why don't you just go comfort Kim or something, you seem to be _really_ good at that." Avalon continued to keep her face directed away from Billy's as she filled up her backpack and zipped it shut. She nearly smacked Billy in the side in pulling her backpack over her shoulder. Billy continued to watch the side of her face, trying to figure out what to say. He opened his mouth and let out a quiet breath. "Seriously, leave it alone. I mean, it's not your fault that I can't go back home, right?"

Billy's eyebrows furrowed together. "What?"

"Ask Mr. Kaplan, I don't even know what's going on." Avalon stepped back from her locker and closed the door before bringing a hand up to wipe away the tear that fell down her cheek. "It's bloody stupid if you ask me, but hey, my life was going too well, it was bound to happen."

"Ava—"

"Don't, Billy." Avalon finally turned to face him completely and he could see just how much it was affecting her. Her dark brown eyes which were usually so filled with life as well as a 'don't mess with me' attitude, was filled with intense sadness. "I don't want to talk about it." She turned on her heel and walked away from the blue ranger.

He was about to go after her, then stopped when he heard the bell ring. Torn, he let out a groan before turning around and racing to get to the science club. As the president of the club he couldn't afford to be late or miss the meeting entirely. He entered the classroom and checked to be sure everyone was there before he got started.

"Excuse me? Is this the science club?"

Billy turned and watched as Violet quietly inched her way into the classroom, looking around before resting her gaze on Billy and giving a small smile. Billy smiled a friendly one back at her. "Yes, it is." He said. "Violet, right?" She nodded. "Well, Violet, welcome to the club. We include anyone that's ready and willing to learn and that wants to have fun."

"Then I've come to the right place, I think" she said. She gave him another, shy smile and lowered her head, walking to the desk.

Billy let out a breath, pushing his thoughts of what happened aside and lead the science club for the next half hour. They would be starting on the annual science fair that took entrants from all of the local high schools soon and they needed to get started on a project proposal to bring to the faculty advisor that would be watching them. The club went by pretty quickly, with Violet being the one that came up with the perfect idea for their project. Billy wrote it down, even taking in stock the materials they were going to need to accumulate to be sure it would work out. He passed it over to the teacher before leaving when the class period ended.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Tommy and Kim were actually looking better than they had earlier that day, back to smiling and laughing with each other and yet Avalon wasn't in class. He was sure she had skipped the rest of the day and went off somewhere; he just hoped she wasn't getting in trouble wherever she was.

Returning home after school he found she had locked herself in her room and wouldn't answer when he knocked, trying to get her attention. He finally backed off, knowing it would be better that he didn't get his head ripped off and decided that it was better to get his homework done as a distraction as he tried to figure out what to do.

He was deep in his history homework when he heard the phone ring. It was picked up and a moment later he found his mother walking over to him, holding out the phone to him. Billy glanced up at her as she gave him a knowing smile and he slowly reached out and took the phone. Lacey ran her fingers through her son's hair before she left the living room.

"Hello?" Billy said into the phone. "This is Billy speaking."

"Billy? Hey, it's Trini!" Billy blinked in surprise then found himself smiling. The former yellow ranger's voice came through the phone so easily it was as if she was sitting next to him. "It's great to hear your voice."

"It's great to…hear your voice too," he replied and found he meant it. "I wasn't sure when I should call _you_ or if I could or…" he trailed off, briefly closing his eyes. "I mean, I didn't know if you parents would be happy with that or if they would be opposed to us getting in contact."

Trini laughed. "Surprisingly my parents have been pretty laid back since we got here," Trini replied. "I think they're very happy that I'm getting to see all of the things Vietnam has to offer." She yawned loudly. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized quickly.

"It's alright, Trini," Billy said quickly. "I mean, it _is_ pretty late there." He looked at his watch and did a quick mental calculation. "Actually, it's like, four in the morning. What are you doing awake?"

"I thought it would be the best time to call and see how you were doing." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Besides, my parents are asleep and when they're asleep, they're completely knocked out. They won't bother me. So…tell me what's going on! How is everyone? I mean, I talk to Kim all the time, but you know her, I can barely get a word in edge wise."

"I'm sure she won't ever run out of things to say, Trini, you should know that by now." Billy ran a hand over his face. "Uh, there's not much going here. You know, just school and fighting monsters day in and day out. I could probably do it in my sleep by now."

"Yes, but then when you get the chance to dream up the next invention that would win you the Nobel Prize."

"That'll come when I take my nap." Billy smiled as he heard Trini's melodious laughter over the phone. "Trini…y-you know I miss you," he said to her. "It's…really weird not having you around."

"You mean not having me around to translate for you?" Trini shot back. She let out a little chuckle, causing Billy's smile to widen. "That was fun. Everything was fun." She then let out a quiet smile. "You know I miss you, too, Billy. There's so much that I miss about not having you around. Of course the others too, but you know what I mean. And everything here is great it's just not…home."

Billy swallowed thickly, afraid to ask his next question. "Have you…met anyone there?"

Now Trini paused for a long moment. "I've been introduced to the guy my parents want me to get married to, yes," she replied. "He's nice and everything…but he's not…he's not you. There are some things we have in common; he wasn't really pleased with the idea of being arranged as well. It's his first time being out here too, so I think my parents and his may have planned this together."

"Oh, well, that's…" For the second time that day, he wasn't sure what to say. He cleared his throat, raising his blue-green eyes to the ceiling as if looking for the answer to be printed there for him. "That's…uh…"

"I know."

And he knew she did understand. That what had brought them to be close in the first place, she always understood what he wasn't exactly articulating and it made things much easier for him. Besides, it was nice to have someone that understood his interest in science and math and everything that came with it.

Trini let out another yawn, this time a longer one. "I'm sorry, I'm just really tired. I'll find a better time to call you again. One where I'm not so tired so that we can talk more. I mean, if you're not too bogged down by Rita and Zedd, right?" She let out a quiet laugh and Billy could only muster up a slight chuckle. "Hey, please don't spend too much time thinking about me, Billy. I want you to continue living your life and we'll see how things are when I come back." There was a slight pause. " _If_ I come back," she added quietly. "You never know. But living in the past doesn't help anything."

"I'm sorry, but I'm sure that the past has helped us more ways than you think." Billy smirked.

Trini laughed again, "And I'm sure you can find a million statistics to support your theory but I'm being serious. You need to keep moving forward and we'll keep in touch."

"Yeah…OK…" Billy said.

"I'll talk to you later."

"Mhm."

"Bye, Billy."

"Bye, Trini."

Billy hung up the phone and placed it on the couch amongst his scattered books, papers, and notebooks. He stared at it for a long moment before turning back to the homework sheet that was resting on his lap and slowly started to smile as he picked up his pencil and continued on his homework.

* * *

 

"I don't understand," Bailey said as she crossed her legs, leaning in towards her sister. She rested her chin in her hands. "What reason could Mr. Kaplan have for you not to be able to go back to Oz with the others?" She held up a finger. "Not including how unfair it is that you lot could go and I can't."

Avalon gave a waning smile at the purple ranger's words and shifted to the side, giving her sister some space to lay down on her bed with her. She brought a hand up and ran it over her cheek as another tear escaped her eyes. "Goober," she murmured to Bailey.

"Booger," Bailey shot back. She reached out and wiped away the tears on her sister's face. "You're scaring me, Av," she admitted. "I've never seen you this upset before. Not even when you dislocated your arm surfing. Which was actually pretty creepy. Normal people would be screaming and crying and you were just making jokes and laughing about everything."

"Eh." Avalon shrugged. "I didn't even cry when I got shot, but this hurts worse." She let out a heavy sigh. "It's not even that I can't go home that's the problem it's…not being able to get answers." Bailey titled her head to the side in confusion. Briefly closing her eyes, Avalon ran a hand through her hair. "Remember that letter that I got? Where I said it was from no one?"

"It was only a couple days ago, Av, so yeah."

"Don't be a smart ass."

"I'm already smart, but I'll try not to be an ass."

The sisters laughed for a moment. Then the orange ranger's face turned serious once more. "The letter was from Dad," she explained. Bailey's eyes widened. "Yeah, I know. After all of these years he sent us a letter...he wants to see us, Bay. And…as pissed as I am about him shoving us on a plane out here, I still want to know some things. What his side of the story is, what his relationship with mum is…" her eyes lowered and her voice caught in her throat. "If he still loves us."

Frowning, the purple ranger mulled over what her sister has to say. "I'm sure he does."

"Really?" The orange ranger's eyebrow cocked upwards. "Then why has mum been the only one that's gotten into contact with us? If what she says was true, that she was trying her hardest to custody of us because of…well, of I don't know what. But it still sucks."

"Have you talked to the others about this?"

"It's none of their business."

Bailey leaned forward so that she was in her sister's face. "Av, you need to _stop_ pushing everyone away when things don't go your way. It's no one's fault what happened to us happened. And it's no one's fault that Mr. Kaplan's not letting you go."

"He's not letting me go because he doesn't think my grades are high enough," Avalon reminded her. "Which is ridiculous because I've been doing better. But it's not my fault that having to learn the history of another country is difficult, not when I already spent most of my life learning the history of a the one I was actually born and grew up in." Her eyes became misty again and she let out a loud sigh. "It just sucks."

"I know," Bailey agreed. "But don't think there's nothing you can do to change his mind."

"I tried."

Bailey blinked once. "Did you do it nicely?" She squealed and leaned out of the way as Avalon moved to punch her on the arm. She then reached over and started to tickle her mercilessly. "Av! Stop it!" The two girls continued to laugh as the orange ranger continued her torture on her. "I swear; I'm going to pee if you don't stop." Bailey's face turned red and her laughter turned silent as she continued to twist and turn away from her sister.

Avalon's ringing cell phone was the only thing that caused her to stop tickling her sister. Bailey turned and started to kick her sister in the back as the orange ranger was distracted. Reaching out a hand, Avalon smacked Bailey's feet away and grabbed onto her cell phone. She glanced at the Caller ID before answering.

"Hey Skull, what's up?" She asked into the phone.

"We just found out," Skull said. He took a deep breath and Avalon waited patiently for him to continue. "Bulkie and I…we got into the police academy. Not just the junior police academy, but the actual police academy. Lt. Stone heard about the way we helped some of the students when there were monsters at the school and…they thought it proved our loyalty and bravery and…we got in. We start training soon."

Avalon took a moment to take in what he had just said. Then her eyes widened before she reached out and started to slap Bailey on the thigh. "No way. Really? You and Bulk both got in the academy? Ace! That's bonzer. I'm so happy for you two."

"We can't thank you enough for what you did to help us out," Skull then said. "For sticking up for us and believing in us more than others have. I don't know what we can do to thank you."

"For starters you can stop throwing me over your shoulder and running away," Avalon said, causing Bulk to laugh. "Just do you best, Skull. I know you two are going to be really helpful for this city." She tucked her hair behind her shoulders. "I'll talk to you later. Hoo roo." She hung up the phone and tossed it aside to see Bailey looking at her strangely. "What?"

"You know if there was anything I could do to help…"

Avalon smiled. "I know." Her nose wrinkled, slightly turning her face away. "Since when did you become the big sister and want to protect me?"

"Since I saw how upset my big sister was," Bailey replied.

Avalon smiled and reached out, mussing her sister's hair. Bailey pushed her hand away and leaned in, giving her a comforting hug.

* * *

 

Rocky sighed as he walked into his house, gently closing the door behind him. He heard the sound of pots and pans clanging together in the sink and knew his mother was doing the dishes, which meant that he was late. And if there was one thing his mother couldn't tolerate, it was lateness.

Especially when he promised to take his brothers and sisters to the park that day.

The red ranger inched towards the stairs, hoping he could make a clean getaway, but knew he was caught as soon as the water turned off. There was a brief moment of silence and then his mother came to the foot of the stairs, drying her hands on a dishtowel and looking up at him with disappointment in her eyes.

"Rocky…"

That's all she needed to say before he broke. "I know I'm late, Mom," he said to her. "I just…I had so much to do and I lost track of time." It was true. Not only had he needed to finish his homework in his advanced math class—surprisingly he tested out of the normal class due to his work at Stone Canyon—but he also needed to go to a meeting with Mr. Kaplan to make sure he would have his passport and things ready to go to Australia and that wasn't including the martial arts class he then went on to teach afterwards.

It was hard enough juggling things when he had a day of a monster attack, but even worse when he _didn't_ have a monster attack to deal with and just needed to schedule everything else.

"You know your brothers and sisters were waiting for you to take them to the park," Mrs. DeSantos reminded him. "They were really looking for to it. And, now that you're going to be going on that trip, you need to spend as much time with them as possible."

Rocky's right eyebrow lowered. "How did you know about the trip?"

"They sent home a packet of information," Mrs. DeSantos explained. "About how you need to keep your grades up to be eligible." She regarded her son. "Are your grades OK?"

"Everything's fine, Mom, I promise," Rocky said. He went down the stairs and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I know I let them all down. I'll take them to the park and spend the _whole day_ with them before I leave. I just have so much to do now that I have to pack on top of it. I'm sorry. Lo siento, Mamá."

Mrs. DeSantos continued to watch her son for a moment then smiled. "Esta bien. But please don't make a promise you can't keep again."

"I won't." Rocky moved back up the stairs. "I need to do some homework."

"I'll bring you up some food later, get to work."

 _Of course she'll make it seem like it was her idea,_ Rocky thought, smiling to himself. He went into his room and closed the door behind him. Dropping his backpack onto his bed he flopped down next to it, stretching his arms out so that he resembled a 'T'. He had so much stuff to do.

Too much stuff.

Everything was starting to pile on top of him and now that this trip was coming up, as excited as he was, he was starting to feel the pressure. Going to a new city, new school, having new responsibilities, being further ahead in the school work than he originally thought…it was tearing into him.

Rocky squeezed his hands into fists, pressing his fingers into his palms as hard as he could. It hurt at first. It hurt a lot but then the pain went away and relief washed over his body. The pain turned to relief…no, release and he felt better once it came. Opening his hands, Rocky looked into his palms and saw that he had cut open the skin a little bit.

And yet, he still felt good.


	37. Home, Sweet Home

**Chapter 37**

_Home, Sweet Home_

* * *

 

"She can't go?" Tommy repeated, staring at Billy in surprise. He exchanged a glance with Kimberly before the two turned back to the blue ranger, who was also being gaped at by Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. "Mr. Kaplan actually said that she can't go."

Grimly pressing his lips together, the blue ranger nodded. He looked over his shoulder at the librarian as she set up her desk for the day and lowered his voice. Despite the fact that school hadn't started yet, they didn't want to risk being kicked out of when it was one of the few places they could talk quietly while waiting for the principal to arrive. "He says that her grades aren't good enough to be able to go on the trip." He bobbed his head back and forth. "Which has some merit; considering her grades at the beginning as well as how much time she's spent in the hospital. However, I don't think he understands how important it would be if she was able to go on the trip with us."

"No problem, Billy," Adam agreed in his quiet voice.

"Yeah, what do you want us to do," Rocky added.

Reaching up, Billy ran his hand over his mouth, his eyes squinting for a moment. "Coming at Mr. Kaplan like we're attacking him isn't the way to go. So if we just talk to him calmly and explain the different reasons why it'd be beneficial for her to go is the best way."

Aisha and Kimberly exchanged knowing glances. "You don't have pie charts and bar graphs too, do you?" Kimberly teased.

"Yeah, maybe a smoking beaker or some exploding glass," Aisha agreed. The two female rangers laughed, causing Billy to give a small smile, patiently waiting for them to finish. "Sorry, Billy. We were just kidding."

"It's alright," he replied with a wave of his hand. "It's nice to know that I have support in many areas of my life." He then lifted a finger. "And if there was a smoking beaker, seven times out of then you wouldn't want to be around, just in case you get splashed by some sort of chemical." He laughed along with the rangers and looked at his watch before standing up from where he had been leaning against the table. "C'mon, he should be here by now."

Tommy let out a worried sigh, placing his arm around Kimberly's shoulder as the group left the library and headed towards Mr. Kaplan's office. Kimberly reached up her hand and grabbed onto Tommy's squeezing it as she smiled up at him. "What's wrong?" She asked him.

"A lot," Tommy admitted.

He chewed his lower lip for a moment, wondering if he should tell her what he had planned. He had spoken to his parents about it as soon as he heard they would be going to Australia and while they had been completely against it at first, they understood that it was something he felt he had to do. But…it was something he was sure would help them all in the long run.

And looking down at Kimberly's worried face didn't help at all. He was supposed to keep the news of his parents wanting to adopt the Mitchell sisters a secret until they were sure that the paperwork would go through. However, what his parents didn't know was that when there was a secret, Kimberly _always_ had to know what was going on and usually found her way in getting to know what was being kept from her. And now that the two of them were, in essence, dating in secret, he knew there was a greater chance of the honesty and trust that they put each other to be broken because of what he was keeping quiet.

"OK I have to tell you something." Taking Kimberly's shoulders, he held her back as the other rangers kept going, disappearing around the corner towards the administrative offices. He waited until they were completely out of sight before turning to the pink ranger. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone else until things are completely sorted out.

"Yeah," Kimberly said quietly. She reached out and gently rubbed her hand against his forearm. "Of course. You know you can tell me." She tilted her head to the side and her hazel eyes searched Tommy's. "What's going on?"

Tommy gently smiled down at his firebird before taking a breath. "My Mom and Dad…they want to adopt Avalon and Bailey." He reached out a hand and placed it over the pink ranger's mouth as her eyes widened. Knowing her as well as he did, he knew she was about to start squealing or make some sort of noise that would attract attention to them. "Yeah, I know. It's really cool, but…they don't want to say anything until they're sure the papers can go through and then, while we're there, I want to see if I can talk to Captain Mitchell about it."

He slowly lowered his hand from Kimberly's mouth and she took in a deep breath before reacting. The white ranger chuckled to himself when he saw how hard she was trying to keep her excitement from being shown. "They really want to adopt them?" Tommy nodded, causing the pink ranger to grin. "That's so great, Tommy! That'd be so amazing if it could work out."

"I know, but I'm worried about talking to Captain Mitchell," Tommy admitted. "Not only because he's so high up in the job he has, but because we really don't know a lot about what happened from his side. We met Ellie and we heard what she had to say, but not what Captain Mitchell had to say."

"You're right, I get what you mean," Kimberly agreed. "Still, it'll be really great if things work out. If you want me to go with you, if you can meet up with him, I'd be glad to go."

"Thanks, Kim." Tommy smiled and leaned in, giving her a kiss on the cheek before reaching down and sliding his hand into hers. "Now, let's go see what we can do about getting Avalon to go home." He gripped her hand tightly, bringing it up and kissing the back of it, causing Kimberly to giggle. Then, feeling emboldened, he looked over his shoulder before turning back to Kimberly and wrapping his arms around her waist. He lifted her off the floor, quickly spinning her around, causing the pink ranger to laugh, then set her back down and gave her a long kiss.

"Tommy…" Kimberly was breathless by the time the kiss ended. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shinning as she gazed up at him.

"Sorry, I just…really, wanted to do that," he said to her. "It sucks…not being able to date you anymore…even thought sneaking around to do it is pretty cool." He leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers. Kimberly smiled and brought her arms up around Tommy's neck, holding onto him tightly.

The two rangers stood there for a few moments, hugging, until Kimberly pulled back one more, smiling warmly up at him. "I love you," she said to him.

"I love you, too, Kim," he replied. "We'll get through this."

Kimberly smiled, nodded, and kissed him on the cheek once more before taking his hand and the two strolled down to Mr. Kaplan's office where Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Billy were sitting on the bench that was outside of his office. They didn't question it when the two sat down with them.

They all continued to sit in silence until the door to Mr. Kaplan's office opened and they were beckoned inside. The rangers trooped in and Tommy, coming in last, closed the door behind him.

Mr. Kaplan sat down in his leather chair, leaning back. "What brings you students here this early? I don't believe that there was any meeting that were scheduled to go on this early and while I have the idea that you all enjoy school this much. I know that, for the most part, you'd rather be doing whatever it is that you want to do when the school bell rings."

"Yes, well, Mr. Kaplan, we wanted to talk to you about the upcoming trip to Australia," Billy started.

Mr. Kaplan smiled, lacing his hands together. "Ah, yes. That was something we've been funding for years and now we've finally got the chance to go. The administration is very excited about being able to send the class off and we can't wait to have the exchange play out." He paused for a moment. "Please tell us everything you can when you return. We'd really like to hear about your experience."

"Well, that's the thing, sir, we don't think we can have a great experience," Billy said slowly. He glanced at his friends as Mr. Kaplan's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "You see, this is about Avalon—"

"—Mr. Cranston, I do understand that you want your friend to be able to go on the trip with you, but as I've told her, her grades are not up to par to be able eligible to go," Mr. Kaplan said to him, his face hardening. "We _do_ have rules and regulations that students must abide by."

"We understand that, Mr. Kaplan," Aisha broke in. "But her being the only one not able to go isn't really fair. Not including the fact that where we're going is her home."

"Yes, it is very unfortunate about that but—"

"—and you can't expect us to have a good time without our friend there," Rocky jumped in. He bobbed his head back and forth. "Sure, we haven't known her that long, but we've gotten to know her and all she talks about is what it was like back home."

"He's right," Kimberly agreed. "She's always saying how much she wishes she could go back." Her eyes shifted for a moment. "I'm sure you're aware of the…things that have been going on with her the past couple of months." Mr. Kaplan nodded. "So you understand how important it is that she be able to go home, just for a little bit. We all grew up here or in Stone Canyon, but she grew up in an entirely different country and only came here about three years ago. She misses it."

"Miss. Hart, as I've explained to you, I can't allow her to go with her grades being what they are," Mr. Kaplan insisted. Now his face had turned hard. "What do you think will happen if I bend the rules for her? Then I'd have to do it for just about every kid that can't make it on the senior trip or any freshmen that wants to go on the school wide picnic at the end of the year."

Tommy ran his hands over his mouth. "Mr. Kaplan, we're not saying that your decision isn't what you think may be the best for her," he said. "We're just trying to help out a friend. Her grades are improving. Ask Ms. Appleby, she's been doing her best to be sure that she doesn't fall behind."

"And I've been looking over her work as well," Billy added.

Mr. Kaplan stayed silent for a while, pressing his lips together as well as his fingertips. Tommy waited with baited breath to hear what he had to say. And yet the silence continued to stretch on. Tommy ran a hand through his long hair and turned away for a moment.

"Mr. Kaplan, is there anything that we can do that would convince you to let her go?" Adam broke the silence. He stood up, placing his hands on his hips. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us. How great would it be if we had our own personal tour guide? Not only does she know everything about the area we're going, but she also knows the best shops, the best sites…and even can suggest the things that we can do because she's experienced it firsthand."

Mr. Kaplan's eyes shifted for a moment.

Billy quickly took the bait. "If there's anything that you're worried about, that has happened in the last coming months, please keep in mind that it's only happened while she's been in Angel Grove. Her life had been happy, considering, back when she was in Sydney and considering it's so far away there's a very low chance of anything happening." He placed his hand on his chest. "Sir, I have a perfect GPA, great school attendance, lead a couple of clubs and societies and am very well known to be one that is honest and loyal. While we're out there you have my word that I'll keep an eye on her."

Kimberly made a noise beside Tommy and when he turned to look at her, she quickly covered her hand with her mouth. Though because of the way her cheeks bunched up underneath her eyes, Tommy could tell that he was smiling. His eyebrows furrowed together. _Why would she smile at a time like this?_ He thought.

He pushed the thought aside and turned back to Mr. Kaplan who stared long and hard at Billy. Finally, with a sigh that seemed to come from his feet, the principal stood up and leaned forward, resting his hands on the table top. He continued to look at Billy, who stared back at him. "Mr. Cranston, I applaud you for your determination. And while it is against my better judgment to go back on my word, I think that it would be a good idea if I _did_ let Miss. Mitchell accompany you all on your trip." He held up a finger. "If you do keep an eye on her. She's a good student, but needs a push every now and then. I think giving her this chance will do that."

Billy was elated but did his best to downplay it the best he could. "Thank you, Mr. Kaplan." He reached out his hand and shook the principal's firmly. "Thank you, very much." He led the rangers out of the office and a little ways down the hall.

"Way to go, Billy!" Kimberly cheered as soon as they were out of earshot. She grabbed onto his arm before letting go and backing away from him, holding her hands in front of her.

"Yeah, you really did it, man," Adam agreed. He placed his hand on the blue ranger's shoulder and smiled at him.

"I didn't understand half of what you said, but it worked," Rocky agreed. He raised his hand to give the blue ranger a high-five, and then noticed that his blue-green eyes shifted over his palm. Turning it around, Rocky looked down and noticed the scratches that were still left in the skin. "Oh, I was helping my Mom pick flowers," he explained. "Roses."

Billy nodded.

"Way to go, man," Tommy agreed. "I bet you can't wait to tell Av that she can go."

"Me?"

"Yes, you!" Aisha piped up. She reached out and gently shoved him on the arm. "Boy, you were the one that organized this whole thing. We probably wouldn't have convinced him if it weren't for you. You better be the one to tell her." She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed stare.

"You don't want to go against her," Adam remarked, motioning to the yellow ranger. Beside him, Rocky shook his head. "She can get pretty nasty when things don't go her way." He ducked behind Tommy as Aisha then moved to hit him. "See?"

Billy laughed with the others as they headed out to their lockers. Tommy glanced down at Kimberly and noticed that she continued to look at Billy every now and then. The white ranger reached out and nudged her on the arm and gave her a curious glance. She merely smiled at him and shrugged. That really meant that she was up to something or she knew something he didn't know.

They turned the corner and found the orange ranger at her locker, heaving a sweatshirt into her locker. Looking up, she noticed the rangers walking towards her. "I seriously hate not being able to move fast anymore," She complained. "Do you know how hard it is to actually get up in the morning and have everything ready when you're used to being able to sleep up until the last minute and just zoom out the door?" She rolled her eyes. "Makes me wonder how anyone is ever able to function this early in the morning." She continued to scowl before looking at the rangers out of the corner of her eye. "OK, I know that my accent is bloody entertaining, but you don't have to stare at me like I'm some sort of a side show, yeah?"

"Billy has something to tell you," Aisha said, pushing him forward.

Avalon's eyebrows rose as she tilted her head to look at him. "Let me guess, you blew up the last thing that was great in my life?" She lifted a finger. "Oh wait, I forgot that that was already taken care of by Mr. Kaplan." Her eyes flashed and she turned back to her locker. "If there's anything else that I need to know, I'm sure—"

"Av!" Kimberly broke in. "Just shut up and listen to what he has to say." The orange ranger's eyebrows rose even further and Kimberly immediately detected the silent threat that had just been dished out. 'Tell me to shut up again and I'll kill you'. Pretty simple to notice. You can take the girl out of the gang, but can't necessarily take the gang out of the girl. Not that easily, anyway.

Avalon turned her dark eyes back to Billy, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"You can go," he said to her. She cocked her head to the side, waving a hand for him to continue. "We just talked to Mr. Kaplan and we convinced him to let you come to Australia with us."

The orange ranger took a step back away from him, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she looked back and forth from him to Kimberly, then back to him. "I swear to God, if you're kidding, I'll fucking kill you."

"He's not kidding, Av," Tommy broke in. He couldn't stop the smile that was working its way onto his face and was sure that the other rangers were smiling as well. Despite at how true her claim probably was. "We just got out of his office. He's going to let you go. Ask him yourself." He grabbed her shoulder and shook her. "You can go."

"Really?" She still looked a little skeptical, but he could see the light returning to her eyes. "I can go? Seriously?"

"Yes, girl!" Aisha grabbed her shoulders and started to shake her. "You can go! You can go! And you better do it. Kim and I heard that Australia has some of the best shops and we intend to hit each and every one of them."

The side of Avalon's face curled up as she thought for a moment. "I'd say that they have some good shops, but not the best. The best ones are on the Gold Coast and from what I've seen of the itinerary of the trip we're not heading out over there. But the beaches are good." Then the words seemed to have finally sunk in for her eyes lit up and she let out a whoop of excitement. "I can go! I can go! Oh, this is so bonzer!"

"You can thank Billy for it," Adam said, motioning to him.

"Yeah, he was the one that organized the whole thing, to talk to Mr. Kaplan," Rocky added.

Avalon moved forward and threw her arms around the blue ranger, hugging him tightly. He chuckled and hugged her back. "You're the best!" She said. "Seriously, I don't know how to thank you." She took a step back and gazed up at him before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Both of their cheeks flushed. "For everything. " She paused for a moment then sucked in a quick breath, lowering her head before looking at all of the rangers. "You guys are beauty, really." She thought for a moment. "When we get there…you guys can stay with me and my Mum at her place."

"Whoa, wait, is there enough room?" Aisha asked.

"More importantly, is there enough food?" Rocky jumped in.

Avalon chuckled. "You're talking to a girl that does nothing but eat after she gets some exercise and all I did when I was in Australia was surf. So, yeah, there's enough food. And the place is pretty big, because my Dad's paying for it…but that's a long story."

"We wouldn't want to impose," Kimberly started.

"It's not imposing if there's an invitation," Avalon reminded her. She ran a hand through her hair, showing off the 'V' that was tattooed on the inside of her wrist. "Great, now I have even more to do, number one being to give my Mum and my sister a call. I'll see you in class." She started to back away, her face the most illuminated any of them had ever seen. "Seriously, thank you guys. I promise you won't regret this trip."

She turned on her heel and disappeared around the corner. Aisha went to her locker and started to take out her things. "I don't know about you guys, but that was the most excitement I can take for today. I don't want to be late for class."

"Hey, I'll walk with you," Rocky suggested. "I'm heading in that direction anyway." He placed his hand on his stomach. "I missed breakfast and I was going to go by the cafeteria to see if there was anything they could give me." He and Aisha laughed.

"I'll head over there too," Adam said, causing Aisha to blink in surprise. "It gives me time to look over my notes for the class." He smiled gently at her and she smiled back before the three headed down the hallway.

"This is going to be great," Kimberly said as she went to her own locker. "We get to spend a week in Australia and all of our friends get to go." She looped her arms around Tommy's waist. "This is seriously going to be the trip to remember."

"And that's only if Rita and Zedd don't attack while we're gone," Billy reminded them.

"Knowing our luck they'd do that _and_ find a way to set off a bomb in Australia," Tommy joked. "But even we know that those two aren't smart enough to do that." The three rangers laughed and gathered their things, heading off to their class.

* * *

 

The orange ranger could barely sit still in her classes all that day. It dragged on forever considering all she wanted to do was be able to go home and pack. Not only was she excited to be going back home, but she was glad to be out of Angel Grove for a while. Any way so that she didn't have to worry about some sort of baiting from the High Flyers or the potential for Skye and Summer to come back, she was glad to get away from it.

If only for a few minutes.

She was highly aware that she would have to go back to Angel Grove and continue to face the trials and tribulations she had set for herself. But at least she was able to get a bit of a breather. And, maybe, it proved that things really were getting better for her. It was like Bailey had told her, she needed to stop thinking she could handle everything on her own and allow the other rangers to come completely into her life like Billy, Tommy, and Kim were doing.

 _If Jason, Zack, and Trini were around they'd probably be able to do the same,_ Avalon thought. The excitement had waned when the thought entered her head. She was the sole reason for Zack leaving, for Jason having gotten beaten up ages ago and…well, she couldn't remember if she had done anything to Trini but, knowing her luck, she had to have done something.

Once school let out, Avalon promised she would meet the rangers at the Youth Center later, to talk about some more things about the trip, and then headed off to the police station. She had been paged by Lt. Stone to meet with him after school and she wanted to know what it was that he wanted.

Avalon brushed her hair behind her ears as she walked into the police station; she went over to the front desk and placed her hands on top. "Excuse me, but I'm looking for Lt. Stone. He's supposed to be meeting with me." She pointed towards herself. "I'm Avalon Mitchell."

"Right, he mentioned wanting to see you," The receptionist said. "He's in his office, you know where it is."

"I've been here enough times to know where _everything_ is, mate," Avalon said. She pushed herself away from the desk and went deep into the throngs of the police station before arriving at Lt. Stone's office. When she arrived, she knocked on the doorframe and he looked up and nodded at her.

"Miss. Mitchell, glad to see you made it in one piece," he said.

"At this point I've finally managed to stop flinching at every loud sound and I don't rush out the bloody front door thinking I'm going to get another gun shot," Avalon said, walking over to him. "So I think I'm the only one that's allowed to make jokes at this point, yeah?" She scratched the shoulder where she had been shot and Lt. Stone nodded as he stood up.

"Would you like to watch as the cadets take their physical test?" He asked.

Avalon gazed at him for a long moment, eyebrows furrowing together in confusion, then nodded. He picked up a whistle that had been resting on his desk and motioned for Avalon to follow him out of the room. She walked behind him and out of the police station and into his patrol car. The two drove to what looked like a campsite with obstacle courses festooned around the grounds. Cadets were running around, following the orders of the officers that were yelling orders at them.

Lt. Stone and Avalon got out of the car and the two walked over to the last line of cadets that waited for their instruction. Avalon spotted Bulk and Skull at the end of the line and gave them a quick wave, which they eagerly returned, before Lt. Stone lifted his whistle and blew it loudly.

"Listen up!" He shouted, voice echoing amongst the trees behind them. "Today we're going t be testing your physical ability. You have to be in top shape to be able to stay on the force and if you aren't in shape we're here to weed you out now!" He looked at his watch. "We're going to start with a round of pushups. Don't stop until I tell you to." He motioned to the officers that stood next to him, dressed in sweats. "They're going to keep count to make sure that none of you are trying to increase your number." Placing the whistle between his lips, he blew it loudly.

The cadets dropped to their hands and started to do a series of push-ups, grunting and groaning as they did so. Avalon chuckled to herself as she watched Bulk and Skull start their own run of push-ups, starting off fast but then considerably slowing down after a minute.

"Something tells me that you didn't bring me out here just to watch Bulk and Skull," she said to Lt. Stone, keeping her eyes on the cadets, though directing her speech towards the man beside her.

"Not particularly," he agreed. "There _is_ something of importance I wanted to bring up to you."

The orange ranger shifted. "Does this have to do with me being a—"

"No." Lt. Stone lowered his voice. "It has nothing to do with you being a ranger." He cleared his throat and reached behind him, sliding an envelope out of the back pocket of his slacks. "This came in the mail for you and while I understand it is against protocol for the interception of mail, I couldn't help but notice where it came from." He turned it over and revealed the return address to the orange ranger, who immediately noticed that it had come from the jail.

She gritted her teeth before let out a patient sight, taking the letter from him. "Chase," she confirmed. "He sent me a letter?" Lt. Stone nodded and watched as she continued to gaze over the front, not opening it. "That can't be good. God knows he's probably complaining about not having things go his way for once in his life." She shook her head. "He never could understand the word 'no'." She ran her hand along the side of her face. "God knows I've told him I didn't want to do rob a store and I got a pistol whipping too many times to count."

"And it's that reason alone I have to advise that you don't open that letter and that you don't respond to it," Lt. Stone said firmly. "If he keeps trying to get into contact, get rid of them before you're tempted to even look. And if he calls, don't pick up."

Avalon smirked as she tore the letter in half then into fourths. "No worries there mate." She continued to rip it until it was a pile of confetti, hands shaking. "I'm going on vacation."

* * *

 

"Ugh! Where is that bloody train?!" Bailey complained, turning on her heel and started to walk back up the train platform. "It's late." She looked at her watch and continued to pace before coming to a stop, bending over and looking out to see if she could see it coming.

Rocky laughed. "Relax, Bailey, it'll be here soon."

Pouting, Bailey sighed and walked back over to the wooden bench, dropping down next to her sister. The purple ranger leaned over and rested her head on the orange ranger's shoulder, causing Avalon to laugh and put her arm around her sister in a comforting hug.

"Are you guys all set to go?" Ernie asked as he walked over to the rangers, rubbing his hands together. He smiled widely at the declarations of excitement he got in return. "The train'll be here soon to take you to the airport." He held up a finger. "And don't forget to send me a postcard from Australia."

"We won't," Kimberly promised. "You know, it was really nice of you to come see us off."

"Yeah, well, it's the least I could do," Ernie replied. "You're some of my best customers as well as some great friends. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm glad to be the one to see you go." He placed his hands on his hips. "Have a great trip and I'll see you when you get back." He waved to the rangers and walked off down the platform.

The rangers watched him leave and when they turned away there was a sudden flash of light. "Huh?" Frowning, Billy turned back to the direction Ernie had just disappeared to and frowned when he saw their friend was out of sight. _How'd he leave so fast?_

"Is something wrong, Billy?" Tommy asked, noticing where he was staring.

Billy continued to scan the platform for a moment before shaking his head, turning back to the white ranger and smiling. "No, nothing's wrong." He smiled. "Especially not with the news that this trip coincides with Rita's and Zedd's recharge."

"Talk about luck," Kimberly added. "Now I know that nothing can interfere with my shopping."

"Good to know that's all you care about, Pinkerbell," Avalon remarked. She stretched out her legs and crossed them at the ankle. "Then again, it's better than your hair and makeup obsession. I don't know how much longer I can spend going to the mall with you if I have to watch you try on every piece of makeup out there." She squinted an eye. "By the way, it doesn't help you look less like a clown that you already do, yeah?" She laughed and high-fived her sister as Kimberly reached out and smacked her on the arm.

Bailey stiffened for a moment, then tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned forward. She then started to bounce up and down slapping Tommy on the leg. "The train's coming! The train's coming!" She turned and grabbed onto the white ranger's hand and pulled him to his feet. "C'mon! C'mon! Get the bags together!"

Tommy laughed. "Alright, alright, I'm going. I'm going." He ruffled Bailey's hair and picked up her suitcase, handing it to her. "Looks like someone's excited to go."

"More than excited," Bailey denied. "Completely ecstatic, elated…I don't think there are enough words for it."

"Good, then maybe for once you can stop talking," Avalon said loud enough for her sister to hear, sticking her tongue out at her. She chuckled when Bailey waved her off and grabbed her bag. Avalon turned to Billy. "Smurf—"

"You thanked me as much as you could for the past couple of days, Ava, I don't need to hear it anymore," Billy interrupted her. "You're welcome. You don't need to keep thanking me. Just…have a good trip, Ava."

"I will." Avalon reached out and grabbed his arm. "Especially because now I can teach you all the slang you ever need to know."

…

..

.

Back at the Command Center, Alpha watched as the rangers boarded the train and headed off to the airport. He turned around when there was a flash of light and Ernie appeared in the Command Center hands on his knees. Alpha hurried over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Zordon, are you alright?" The robot asked him.

Zordon/Ernie nodded in reply. "Yes, Alpha. I'm alright. Just…please put me back into the tube."

"On my way!" Alpha walked over to the control panel and pushed a bunch of knobs and buttons. Turning, he watched as Zordon's power tube emitted a white light that encompassed Ernie. When the light faded, Zordon was back in his tube. "How did things go?"

"The rangers got on their train perfectly fine," Zordon said. "It was good to see them off for a much needed vacation. Especially with Rita and Zedd having their recharge. However, if what they say about Sabrina and Scorpina is true, they need to be ready for an attack by Goldar or Scorpina if not them leading a hoard of putties or the next horoscope monster."

"I understand, Zordon," Alpha said. "That is why I've made sure that Billy knows we'll contact them if our readings ever come up with a disturbance." He turned back to the viewing globe, watching as the plane that held the rangers continued to soar through the sky. "I hope they have a good time. They deserve it."

"They certainly do, Alpha," Zordon agreed. "They certainly do."

* * *

 

_"Quantas Flight 3748 to Sydney, Australia is now landing. It is a balmy 75 degrees; we hope you enjoy your stay."_

Avalon lowered the blanket that rested on her shoulders and groggily wiped her eyes. She looked around and noticed her sleeping classmates slowly start to stir themselves, having either heard the voice from above or being woken up by the chaperones. Looking to her side, Avalon noticed that her sister was still asleep and made the conscious decision to let her sleep a little bit more. Turning to her other side, she reached out and lifted the shade that covered the window and looked down at the city below them as they came towards the airport.

She smiled.

Home, sweet home.


	38. Disconnected (Out of Touch)

**Chapter 38**

_Disconnected (Out of Touch)_

* * *

 

Avalon quietly walked through the living room of her mother's apartment, stepping over the bodies of her friends as they slept soundly on the floor, and went into the kitchen to start making breakfast. Hearing Rocky's snore, she rolled her eyes. It had taken them a while to figure out the sleeping arrangements.

After arriving at the apartment, to which Ellie enthusiastically greeted her daughters, the matter of who was going to sleep where had come up pretty quickly. Avalon and Bailey were, no doubt, going to have their room, then that left the guest rooms and the living room.

The boys had, of course, suggested that Kimberly and Aisha take the room, but the girls, not wanting to put anyone out, had refused. With Aisha's revelation that Rocky snored and no matter where they put him, it was bound to bug someone, Bailey quickly piped up stating the guys would sleep in the living room, not wanting to have to her Rocky's snoring through the walls to her own.

Now, as Avalon walked through the living room, she saw that Tommy, Adam, and Billy were all wearing ear plugs as they slept, with Rocky lying on his back, one leg inside his sleeping bag, the other poking out to the side, had his mouth hanging open and was blasted the raucous sound with each breath he took.

Shaking her head, Avalon entered the kitchen to find her mother already standing at the stove, moving a spatula over the large pan of eggs that were being cooked. She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and gave her eldest daughter a warm smile, spotting her.

"Good morning, love," She greeted her.

Avalon gave a half smile in response. To say that things were still a bit awkward between them was an understatement, especially when it came to the terms of endearment that came from mother to daughter. In hovered over them like a thin haze, physically there but not acknowledged unless it was spoken about first. Avalon and Bailey called Ellie every now and then, to see what was going on, but it would take a while for things to get completely back to normal for all of them.

The first step was being able to be back in Australia, and as it was always stated, the first step was the hardest to take.

"Morning, Mum," Avalon replied. She walked over to her mother and glanced down onto the stove top. "I would've made brekkie," she pointed out. "Don't you have to go to work?" It was then she realized that her mother wasn't wearing her nursing scrubs. "You didn't get fired did you?"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "And have your father try and convince me to work with his organization? I don't think so." She briefly closed her eyes when Avalon's eyes shifted away from her mother, moving down to her feet. "I didn't mean to sound so bitter and I'm not saying anything bad about your father—"

"—Really?" The orange ranger broke in with a snort. "He lied about having children before, about having a wife before, got you pregnant with me and Bailey, his work got in the way of your guys' relationship causing you to break up, and he got full custody, sent us to California, and now doesn't talk to us and yet still seems to know everything I'm doing." She crossed her arms. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he worked from ASIS or something."

"Well, he _does_ work for the government, in a way," Ellie reminded her. She let out a quiet breath before turning and placing her hands on the sides of her daughter's face. She ran her fingers through the orange ranger's dark tresses, smoothing then down over the side of her face and back over her ears and shoulders. "It's so amazing how much you've grown up these years," She murmured. "Your hair's grown so long!" Her eyes moved over the hair that was full and thick, that almost reached her tailbone.

"I didn't really have a choice, mum" Avalon said quietly.

"I know." Ellie dropped her arms and smiled again. "But I'm glad you're here. But I would've liked some sort of warning that you were bringing all your friends here, yeah? I was afraid I wouldn't have enough space."

With a twitch of her eyebrow, Avalon gave her mother an expression that was a mixture of being condescending as well as amused. "Try to be a mother for once, mum. They always let their friends stay the night."

"Not all of their guy friends, too not usually," Ellie said. She turned back to the stove and continued to stir the eggs for a moment. Avalon pulled herself up onto the counter, gently kicking her legs back and forth as she watched her mother. The two sat in silence for a while before Ellie spoke up again. "You were telling me the last time we talked, that Billy and Trini broke up?"

"Yeah." Bringing a hand up to her mouth, the orange ranger started to gnaw at a fingernail, suddenly uncomfortable. "Trini went back to Vietnam…Jason and Zack left too…Jason's uncle overdosed and…Zack had to leave. I don't really know why." Guilt bloomed inside her like a flower waiting to be plucked. There it was, gently swaying back and forth in the breeze, waiting for another mention of the black ranger, the mention being like the water and sunlight that would allow it to grow. Never before in her life had she wanted to hack a flower out of the ground as viciously as she wanted to do to that one. "Why?"

"I just think it's interesting. I mean…Tommy and Kim are so close, and Billy and Trini had been together, I just can't help but wonder why you haven't…"

Spotting the sly smile on her mother's face, which Avalon was now sure she had adopted form her, the orange ranger let out a loud groan. "Mum! Please stay out of my non-existent love life, yeah?"

"I'm sorry love, but you must know that I want to have grandchildren sometime in the future."

"So ask Bay, she's dating someone." Avalon paused. "Well, as much dating as someone who's only thirteen years old can do." She then paused, shoulders slumping for a minute. "God, I'm so pathetic. I can't even get a boyfriend before my sister does."

"You're not pathetic, Cadence," Ellie said to her. "You're just a boofhead."

Avalon smiled and nodded. Now was definitely not the time to bring up how she had been dating Chase. She didn't want to give her mother a heart attack.

It was strange to her, though; hearing her first name come out of her mother's mouth. As much as she had done her best to call Avalon by the name she preferred when around other people, to her, she was still Cadence. In fact, the last time Avalon had insisted upon Ellie referring to her by her middle name, Ellie had given her that look that only mother's could perfect and retorted by saying, "I named you Cadence, not Avalon" and the orange ranger knew she had immediately lost that argument.

"Cheers, Mum." Avalon looked at her watch. "I guess I'll go wake everyone up. Especially if we're going to meet up with the class to do some shopping and stuff." She jumped off the counter, hesitating for a long moment before giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad to be here, Mum."

Ellie's cheeks flushed and she gave her daughter a beautiful smile, her eyes shining. "I'm glad you're here, too."

Avalon smiled and ducked her head, walking out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Her eye twitched when she noticed that Rocky was still snoring loudly. She walked over to him and kneeled down, placing her hand over his mouth. It took a couple seconds for his face to twitch before he stirred, twisting his head back and forth. Finally, his eyes opened and Avalon withdrew her hand, leaning back as Rocky shot up, eyes wide and breathing heavily.

"Oh man," he breathed, a hand snaking up to his chest. "I just had a dream that a giant cheeseburger I was about to eat, sat on me."

Avalon laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, this should make you feel better. It's almost time for brekkie; you might want to get washed up." The nightmare the red ranger had experienced dissipated as soon as the word 'breakfast' came out of the orange ranger's mouth. In seconds he was on his feet and racing towards the bathroom, his heavy footsteps causing the other boys to stir as well.

"What's going on?" Adam asked groggily, twisting around on the couch, rubbing his eye. His black t-shirt had risen over his stomach at the movement. When the orange ranger turned to answer his question, he seemed to have noticed for he quickly pulled the bottom of his shirt back down, looking away from her.

"Time for brekkie," she replied, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. "You might want to hurry up and get in there before Rocky eats everything. I mean, I hardly know the guy and yet I've been around you lot long enough to realize that you weren't kidding about his appetite."

"Just don't ever say the words 'all you can eat buffet' around him," Adam said. His voice was still thick with drowsiness as he pushed back the cover of his sleeping bag. "You'll be paying for it later." He smiled and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Are we meeting the class later?"

"Yeah, later this morning. To go shopping and see the sights and stuff." Avalon went over to the white ranger and shook him not he shoulder, chuckling when she noticed how his hair had fanned all over the pillow. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she shook Tommy as hard as he could until he turned to face her, reaching out and pushing her face away with his hand. "You have to get up or the food will be eaten before you get a chance. It's the quick and the hungry around here." She then went over to Billy and shook his shoulder to wake him up before reaching to the side and picked up his glasses.

Unfolding the arms, she slid them onto his face as he blinked up at her.

"C'mon, it's time for brekkie," she said to him. "I'm going to wake up the girls and then we can plan what we're going to be doing for the day." She gave him a smile before straightening and walking to the room that Kimberly and Aisha had occupied. Knocking lightly on the door, Avalon opened it and moved inside to find Bailey sitting on the end of the bed as Kimberly kneeled behind Aisha, braiding her hair. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough," Kimberly replied cheerfully. "You'd think that jet lag would've gotten to us. But then I remember all of the cool sites we're going to see today and I just couldn't sleep."

"I'm guessing that's keyword for all of the stores you're going to hit, yeah?" Bailey pointed out, tossing her phone back and forth between her hands. Every now and then she would glance at the face of the screen, then frown, before passing it back and forth once more. Avalon didn't have to guess who she was waiting to contact her and smiled, reaching out and ruffling Bailey's hair. The purple ranger let out a huff and smoothed her hair back down before pushing her glasses back up her nose.

"Not just the stores," Aisha defended the pink ranger. "Though that is part of it. But the sites! I've _always_ wanted to go see the Sydney Opera House. And I promised my Mom and Dad that I would get as many souvenirs to bring back to them as I could." Kimberly tapped the yellow ranger on the shoulder to signify that she had finished, and Aisha reached up behind her to feel the braid that had just been placed in her hair.

"Yeah, well, you're not going to have a good day if you don't get brekkie," she said to them. "Rocky may get to it first." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, Bailey dive-rolled off of the bed and hurried out of the bedroom, her footsteps heard across the apartment over the melody of clanging plates and silverware.

Aisha sighed, getting to her feet as well. "That means that we have to hope Rocky wasn't the first one awake." Avalon expertly made her face void of any emotion as the yellow ranger passed her. She went over to the mirror that hung on the wall, decorated with sea shells, and leaned into it. She ran her fingers through the parts of her hair that wasn't braided, taking time to be sure that each and every strand fell into place. Once she was satisfied with the way she looked, she walked out of the bedroom with a spring in her step.

"Is it just me or do you think she has a thing for Rocky?" Kimberly asked the orange ranger, who twisted to look at her. "I mean, they're close but—"

"They have this thing where they seem like they're too afraid to say anything?" Avalon broke in. She brushed her hair behind her ear. "I was thinking the same thing." She took a deep breath. "Speaking of which…there was something I wanted to talk to you about…if you have the time, I mean."

Kimberly nodded, her eyebrows lowering in concern. "Is everything OK?"

"Its apples," Avalon said quickly. "Not anything that we have time to talk about right now, but…I got a letter from Chase." She watched as Kimberly's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "Yeah, I know, I just…I really don't know what to make of it, honestly."

"What'd he say?"

Avalon shook her head, letting out a quiet laugh. "I ripped it up before I was even tempted to read it, but…now I'm kinda curious what it said." Tilting her head, she scratched the back of her neck, eyes seeming to focus on the space around the pink ranger rather than looking at her. "For the obvious reason, but there's and even great part of me that just wants to forget it all so I can move on. Though I know that's practically impossible, yeah?"

"Av—"

Kimberly was cut off by Ellie's shout, "Kimberly, Cadence! C'mon or there's not going to be any food left for you. And you're going to need it for energy when you meet up with your class."

Avalon turned on her heel and left the bedroom, Kimberly following her. She didn't have to look at the pink ranger to know that she wasn't going to let the conversation drop that easily. In fact, Avalon was surprised to find that she had grown close to Kimberly as time went on. No matter how much she made fun of her love of shopping, make-up, clothes, and overall peppiness, she was her best girl friend. The experiences they've had while fighting as a power ranger, let alone having targeted her house, stealing her necklace, and getting it back had brought them together in some weird way.

Though if anyone had told the orange ranger that would've happened, she would've laughed. The girly-girl wasn't usually someone that Avalon would hang out with, not willingly anyway. Though Summer had come close. That girl, when she wasn't with Chase or beating someone up for their money, was usually sitting somewhere, painting her fingernails and toenails.

 _Then again, that girl could have a nail file up against your neck as quickly as you could blink;_ Avalon thought as she went to the kitchen and sat down in the open spot for her, in between her mother and her sister. She waited for the food to be passed around before taking her own helping and filling up her plate, replacing the bowls in front of her.

"So, Mrs. Mitchell," Kimberly started.

"Please, Kim, all me Ellie." Ellie gave her a bright smile. "I prefer it, actually. I'm just a nurse, not a scholar or anyone of that high importance."

"Ok. Ellie…" Kimberly gave an evil smile. "Do you have any stories about Av or Bailey when they were younger that you'd like to share?" This suggestion was met with laughter and noises of interested from the other rangers. Avalon and Bailey, on the other hand, looked at their mother with suspicion.

Ellie was the only one that didn't reveal any emotion that was on her face. Instead, she laced her fingers together and glanced at her two daughters before shrugging. "Hey, you _did_ say that I had to act more like a mother, yeah?" she said as a preface.

"Av!" Bailey shot towards her sister.

"I meant for everything other than embarrassing the hell out of me," Avalon shot back.

Tommy gave her a look. "You don't get embarrassed," he pointed out.

"I'm good at hiding it."

Ellie tapped her chin with her fingers. "Hmm, which one is better? The mud story or the time you cried at school."

Now Avalon was mortified. Her face turned red and her eyes opened wide, illuminating her dark brown irises. She was usually able to hide her embarrassment pretty well, but those two instances were the two things that made her want to crawl into a hole and die and her mother knew it. "Mum!"

"I vote for the crying at school story," Rocky said, waving his fork in the air.

"That's because you want to try and forget the time that _you_ cried at school," Aisha teased him. Rocky immediately lowered his fork and sank into his seat as all eyes turned to him.

"I wouldn't mind hearing a few anecdotes from when Avalon and Bailey were growing up," Billy said with a bright smile.

Avalon gave him the stink-eye. "Go right ahead, but be forewarned that when we get back to Angel Grove the _first_ thing I'm going to do is ask your Mum for your baby pictures. We'll see how you feel then." Billy's smile merely widened and Avalon scowled, realizing she wasn't going to get a rise out of him. Instead, she focused her attention on finishing her food as fast as she could while her mother got started the story of when she had gotten mud on the seat of her pants and hadn't noticed it all day.

* * *

 

The sun cast an even greater warmth to Australia that increased the laid-back, chilled out atmosphere that covered those that inhabited the area. It was a feeling that encompassed the group of students from Angel Grove High as they walked along the sites of Sydney, Australia. The early morning breeze was defeated by the blaze of sunlight.

The gulls splashed their webbed feet and salt-filled features along the icy water where surfers dragged their boards along the beach, creating rivets in the sand. Little kids raced along the sand, spraying granular through the air that their dogs raced after, footprints left in the golden surface behind them. The last stop for the class, before breaking off for lunch was the Sydney Opera House. The famous building dominated the landscape as the glittering buildings of the city provided the best backdrop for the structure. The courtyard in front of the Opera House was filled with tourists and Australian citizens alike, remarking in one of the most famous places in the world.

Avalon and Bailey sat back against the concrete steps, watching with peaceful smiles as their friends took picture after picture in front of the building. It was what they anticipated the most, apart from being able to return to a place that made them so happy; watching their friends live out one of the greatest experiences they could ever have.

"You'd think they be tired of the pictures b now," Bailey giggled, watching s Kimberly whipped out her camera once more, directing their friends to get close together. "We've taken more than Mum or Dad have ever taken of us since we were growing up."

"Bet," Avalon agreed. "I'm just glad after picture twenty she turned off the flash." To prove her point, she rubbed her eyes, where dots continued to appear every now and then. "I don't think I've ever been blinded so badly before."

"Yeah…" Bailey let out a wistful sigh. "But taking the pictures was fun. I'm having an even better time back here than I thought we would."

"Mhm." Avalon nodded. She was silent for a long moment before turning her head down and glancing t her sister, her chin resting on her shoulder. She had a peaceful expression on her face, but when she started to speak, a harsh light came to her eyes, mouth and jaw tightening as well, "Are you ready to see Dad later today?"

Bailey let out a long sigh, shoulders slumping as she did so. "I dunno, Av," she said honestly. "I'd like to get some answers…there's so much I'm confused about. It'd behoove of me to know what Dad has to say…what _his_ side of the story is." She shook her head. "Buckley's he's actually going to give us a straight answer but…I can't help but wanting to know."

"Can't help but being angry about it either," Avalon agreed. "But you know me; I rely on my feeling of anger more than anything else." Bailey nodded. "I'm trying, but it's a hard habit to break." Bailey nodded again. "I think we should go after lunch, when we have all of that time to do whatever we want. The guys'll understand. It's our trip, too."

"They'll understand, but they'll also worry," Bailey pointed out. She nudged Avalon on the arm, giving her a knowing smile. "Which is nice."

"Ace."

The orange and purple rangers fell silent and watched as their friends finished taking pictures before getting up and walking over. The chaperone that had come with them, the art teacher Mrs. Spano, clapped loudly so that she got the student's attention. "Alright, it's time for lunch and then after that you can have more time to do whatever it is you want. However, I need to know where each of you are so that we can meet up a couple hours later."

"There's a restaurant just around the corner," Avalon spoke up, pointing behind her thumb as she did so. "There's loads of beauty stuff there. I recommend the prawns and the lobster, but there's a lot to choose from." She slid her hands into the back of her jeans. "It's pretty inexpensive as well."

"Thank you for the suggestion, Avalon," Mrs. Spano said to her. She took a step back, holding out an arm. "Would you like to lead the way?"

"No worries."

The orange and purple rangers led the way to the restaurant and the group split themselves around the table. The rangers all settled down into their table, placing their shopping bags on the floor around their seats and ordered their food. Soon the table top was filled with crab legs, prawns, burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, and as many sides as could be imagined. They had been enjoying their time up until a flash of light erupted in the sky over the Sydney Opera House, grabbing their attention.

"Whoa!" Tommy jerked back in his seat, nearly bumping into Kimberly as he did so. He blinked a few times before turning back to the rangers. "What was that?" His eyes moved over to Billy, hoping he would have some sort of explanation as to what it was, rather than the one Tommy was thinking of, that brought up a gurgling sensation in his stomach.

"I don't know," Billy admitted, slowly. "It doesn't appear to be anything that I'm familiar with."

Adam, who was sitting across from Billy, glanced at his friends. "Should we be worried?" He asked. "What if it's something that's going on back in Angel Grove?"

"Then why would we be able to see the flash all the way over here?" Avalon pointed out.

"She's right," Bailey concurred. "Australia is seventeen hours ahead of California. Its night time over there; Rita and Zedd never attack at night."

"Plus, they're doing their recharge, remember," Aisha pointed out.

The rangers were silent for a long moment. Kimberly shook her head. She didn't like it. There were too many 'what ifs' that could be thrown around. What if they were wrong? What if Rita and Zedd really _were_ attacking? What if they had left Angel Grove unprotected. But still…their communicators would've gone off it something were _really_ wrong. "Well, Zordon and Alpha said they'd be in contact," she said soothingly. "I'm sure it's nothing. If there was a problem, we'd know."

Aisha, immediately relaxing at her friend's soothing words, motioned to the stuffed koala bear that sat in her lap. "Besides, the only problem _I_ have is figuring out how to get all of these souvenirs home." She shook the koala back and forth and smiled at it.

"I don't know," Rocky agreed. He reached out and took the koala, keeping it out of the yellow ranger's reach as she leaned forward to try and get it back. "How about a tugboat?" He asked in a childish, high-pitched voice, making it appear that the bear was talking. "Besides, if you're not careful, you might take all of Australia home with you."

"Why take the whole thing when you have pieces of it?" Billy asked, motioning to Avalon and Bailey. The orange ranger rolled her eyes and gave him a playful swat on the arm.

"I'm sure you say that about every girl that gets to go home with you," she said sweetly, then smirked. "Which doesn't seem to happen often." Billy gave a sarcastic laugh and he moved to give her a swat, but she leaned back out of the way, laughing.

"You know that girl Marge, in our math class?" Kimberly asked Avalon, who nodded. "He used to date her before Trini."

The orange ranger's eyebrows rose. "Really?" She shrugged. "She doesn't seem his type."

"Smart, funny, into science, yeah, I don't see that at all," Adam said sarcastically. He knew who Marge was, being in their math class as well. She really was as smart as the others said which surprised him as to why she wasn't in the advanced math class like Billy and Rocky were. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement and watched as Sabrina quickly left her seat and started to make her way through the tables, towards the exit of the restaurant. She was moving so quickly that her hair flew out behind her.

Adam was immediately on edge. He was worried about her and yet, he knew she was Scorpina. He didn't believe Aisha at first, the news had caught him off guard, but it made a lot of sense. How she moved so quickly, what she meant when Scorpina had, in a way, referred to Sabrina before. He knew he had hurt Aisha when he said that he couldn't believe what she was saying; he had known her long enough to see it flash across her face when he had said he'd rather go home than do homework with his best friends.

But he needed time to wrap his head around the news. He didn't know Sabrina long, he never had much luck with girls, and yet he found himself very intrigued by her. So much so that he immediately felt nothing but concern as he watched her approach their table in her haste to get out.

"That's not what I meant," Avalon defended herself.

Kimberly flashed her a knowing smile. "Then what did you mean?"

Avalon opened her mouth to respond, as Bailey snickered beside her, but cut herself off, watching as Sabrina flew by the table. She had moved so quickly that she didn't have the time to side-step the waiter that came to refill their drinks and knocked him to the ground.

"Oh!" Sabrina held a hand over her mouth before reaching out to the waiter. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" All of a sudden darkness slid over her face and she pulled her hand back, upper lip curling into a smile. "Watch where you're going next time!" She spat, eyes flashing red.

The rangers all tensed, watching the exchange. As if sensing their eyes on her, Scorpina turned to the rangers and smirked at them before continuing out of the restaurant. They were all on their feet before the last of her hair and trailed behind her, around the corner. They had already started running out of the restaurant after her when their communicators went off.

"We know, Zordon," Billy said, bringing his communicator up to his mouth. "Scorpina is about to attack. We're chasing after her right now. We don't want any of our classmates or anyone innocent gets hurt."

"We thought that with Rita and Zedd being not heir recharge you wouldn't have had to worry about an attack," Alpha said, his voice quivering. "But our sensors indicate that it wasn't Goldar that caused her to come out."

"We don't know what her plan is," Zordon added. "Be careful, rangers, and may the power protect you."

"Thanks, Zordon." Billy lowered his communicator and slowed as Tommy led the rangers down an alleyway. There was no chance of the rangers being found out there. The streets had scattered once Sabrina/Scorpina had raced by, steadily turning into the gold monster as she went. "Looks like we're going to have a lot on our hands this time. We can't let any of our classmates get hurt out here."

"Right," Tommy agreed. "Let's do this with as little damage as possible." He put his hand behind his back and pulled out his morpher. "It's morphin' time! Tigerzord!"

"Ankylosaurus!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers morphed and teleported in front of Scorpina. She skidded to a stop and snarled at the rangers before straightening herself. "Well, well, looks like you power brats are looking for a fight!" She closed her hand tightly over her sword. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get!" She jumped high into the air and brought her sword back behind her head. With a cry of effort, she threw it towards them.

"Stegorang!" Avalon quickly summoned her weapon and threw it back at her. Like it had done before, her boomerang flew forward and collided with Scorpina's in mid-air. Sparks and lightning flew, crashing into the buildings around them. The windows blew out and screaming could be heard as the lightning dissipated and the weapons flew back to their masters.

Scorpina scowled and pulled her right arm back. The golden armor that covered her arm turned into what looked like a mixture of a spear and a scorpion's stringer. With a loud cry, she raced towards the rangers, holding the stinger as high as she could. The rangers brought out their power weapons and converged upon Scorpina with a mighty yell. Tommy was the first to reach her. Using Saba, he blocked her stinger with one slash and her sword with another. As he spun, hoping to use his momentum to give her a surprise slash across her chest plate, she struck him in the helmet with her elbow, causing him to stumble back, and then slashed her with the stinger.

Tommy fell to the ground, holding onto his arm, convulsing.

"Tommy!" Kimberly cried. She quickly changed direction, going to run to her boyfriend's side, but Scorpina suddenly appeared in front of her and struck her in the chest and stomach with a few elbow and knee jabs. The Scorpion monster turned on her heel and struck Kimberly across the face with the heel of her foot then finished her off with a blow from her sword, sending the pink ranger to the ground.

Avalon and Bailey tried her on next. Avalon used her Stegorang in a way to block the attacks that Scorpina sent their way as Bailey used her Ankylo Charger as the offensive attack. Placing the end of her Stegorang on the ground, Avalon flipped herself over Scorpina so she faced her back and did a combination of a cartwheel into a somersault before kicking her feet out and striking Scorpina in the back. Scorpina flew towards Bailey, who used her Ankylo Charger to blast her in the front, sending her flying.

"Power Lance!" Summoning his weapon, Billy used it as leverage to attack Scorpina as she tried to regain her balance. Quickly bringing up her sword, she blocked the end of the Power Lance and shoved it aside. She then moved in close to Billy and stuck him across the chest with a red beam of energy from her eyes that caught him across the chest, and then struck him with her stinger, knocking him to the ground.

"Billy!" Rocky called.

"Oh no," Aisha gasped.

"Avalon, Bailey, look out!" Adam broke in.

He watched as Scorpina moved quickly and made quick work of Avalon and Bailey, despite the fight they put up against her. They suffered the same fate of the other rangers as they ended up knocked to the ground as well. That left the Stone Canyon rangers to defend themselves. They took the bait and charged forward as quickly as they could, surrounding Scorpina and starting to fight.

It was frustrating. As Rocky, Adam, and Aisha fought Scorpina, she focused her attention on the red and yellow rangers. Each time Adam moved in to fight, she would elbow him and knee him out of the way before delivering a harsh blow to the other two rangers.

 _What's going on?_ Adam moved forward to attack again and Scorpina turned and used the flat of her hand against his chest, knocking him back before twisting and sending the red beam of energy into Rocky and Aisha, sending them back into the concrete wall of the building beside them and onto the ground.

Adam tightened his grip on the Power Axe as Scorpina turned to face him. She wasn't doing anything other than staring at him, and yet he wasn't going to let her take advantage of it. He stayed on the balls of his feet, watching and waiting for her to make her next move. But instead of her starting their fight, her facial expression changed to fear.

"Adam," she said. He started. Her voice was that of Sabrina, not Scorpina. It startled him more than anything else. "Adam, help me. Please."

Adam tightened his grip on the Power Axe. "Sabrina," he breathed. He looked down at his hands for a moment. What should he do? This monster was part of Rita's and Zedd's plans to take over the world. And yet, here was Sabrina talking to him. She was begging him to help her and yet…the risk was too great. What if it was some sort of a trick?

Could he take that risk?

"Adam," she continued, taking a step towards him. "Please." She held out her hand, fingers shaking, towards him, her face now taking on the pleading expression, eyes welling up.

"Adam," Tommy gasped, holding onto his arm. The venom that Scorpina had injected them with wasn't doing anything that would kill them, but it was enough to leave them moderately paralyzed. "Don't."

"It might be a trap," Billy added, echoing Adam's thoughts. "We don't know what she's capable of."

"I don't…" Adam continued to look around at her friends as they slowly convulsed and shook on the ground, their gasps and grunts alerting him as they tried to get up from the ground to help. He was their last line of defense and they would fail if he got knocked back too. And the Power Rangers didn't fail. _What should I do?_

A sudden, piercing cry cut through the air.

Adam whipped his head up and watched as Scorpina fell to her knees, hands pressing against the sides of her head. "Sabrina!" Dropping his Power Axe, Adam raced across the clearing to the monster. He grabbed onto her shoulders and gently shook her. "Sabrina, its Adam. I'm right here."

"No," Sabrina ground out through gritted teeth. Her voice was a mixture of hers and Scorpina's. "Get away. I don't…I don't' want to hurt you." She let out another painful cry and bowed her forehead against the ground. "Get away while you can."

Adam shook his head. He reached up and unclasped the sides of his helmet, pulling it off. He allowed his helmet to drop to the ground and leaned closer to Sabrina. She noticed his movement and lifted her head, looking at him, brown eyes starting to retain their light, the redness going away. "I'm not going anywhere," he said to her. "I'm going to help you, Sabrina."

As the words left his mouth, Sabrina pressed her hands against her head even further, tousling her hair. Her screams turned high-pitched and frantic, eyes shifting back and forth from the red hue to the normal color. Her body spasmed and Adam held onto her as hard as he could, hoping to keep her still. Finally, her screams abruptly subsided and she slumped forward into Adam's arms. As the black ranger watched, turning Sabrina over in his arms, her gold armor faded away until she was back in her normal clothes.

Her eyes fluttered and she stirred, gazing up at the black ranger. "Adam?" She asked weakly.

A relieved sigh escaped Adam's lips and he tightened his grip around her. "It's alright, Sabrina. You're OK now," he said to her. A tiny smile graced his lips as he watched her, eyes boring into his.

A single tear escaped the corner of Sabrina's left eye. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. "I…I can't control it."

"It's OK," Adam repeated. He reached out and wiped away the tear. "It's OK."

Sabrina listened to his words and smiled gently.

Then her eyes closed and she passed out once more.

* * *

 

Avalon gripped her arm, pressing her fingers into the bandage that was wrapped around her arm. After the fight with Scorpina, the rangers demorphed and went back to their class. They explained, doing their best to show how hurt they had become, that Sabrina had passed out due to heat exhaustion and Mrs. Spano made the unanimous decision that they were to return to their places of residency to get some rest. While the rangers had gone back to the apartment, Avalon and Bailey made an excuse to leave—saying there was some things their mother wanted them to get for her.

However, from the expressions on their faces, the orange and purple rangers were sure that their friends knew what they were really p to and didn't want to intrude upon the moment. Instead, they willingly went back to the apartment while Avalon and Bailey went into town to journey to their father's office.

Now, they sat on the bus, nearing the compound, pain erupting through them as the bus continued to jostle along the uneven roads.

"Stop that, Av, you're going to make it worse," Bailey said to her.

"Sorry." Avalon dropped her hand to her lap, but then a few moments later, her hand was back to her arm, pressing and kneading at the spot. She hadn't gotten hurt that badly, but was still worried there might be some venom coursing through her veins or _something._ She would have that luck. "I can't help it."

"I know," Bailey agreed. "But if you're nervous, you shouldn't mess with it or else it's going to get worse." She knocked Avalon's hand out of the way once more then let out a heavy sigh. She leaned to the side and glanced out the window to see if they were getting closer to their stop. "I can't believe we're about to see Dad." Avalon didn't reply. "I wonder if he'd recognize us. I mean, we couldn't have changed that much since he left us at the airport." Bitterness was something that was a bit normal coming from Avalon's mouth, but hearing it from her sister was a bit scary.

Bailey was the kind of girl that was always so positive and able to see the bright side of nearly everything that came her way. She was easily excitable and rarely, if ever, had a frown on her face. She was always willing to see what she could explore, invent, or create a greeted each new day with the most enthusiasm anyone could ever exude. Now, hearing her finally express her grievances over their father and his actions, Avalon was a bit worried.

Not only had the purple ranger been able to hold in what she felt about Avalon's being in the gang and the secrets they all kept—until she blew up at her older sister while in the hospital—but this was something that was held even further inside, as the two girls usually tried not to talk about it. _Other than her incessant questions of finding Mum and Dad before,_ Avalon reminded herself. Instead of responding, the orange ranger reached out and put her arm around Bailey's shoulder, hugging her into her side. She was going to protect her sister the best she could, even in this situation.

Finally, the bus came to a stop and the doors opened. The sisters got off the bus and walked down the steps. They waited for it to drive away, glancing up at the building, before walking up to the security gate and giving their names to be allowed inside. Captain Mitchell had given their name to the security team in case they would be coming by, and they had received badges that allowed them into the compound. Led by a security guard, they followed him down a series of hallways and were left in a conference room, being told that Captain Mitchell would be with them in a few minutes.

The two girls continued to sit in silence as they waited for their father to arrive, only moving when they heard footsteps heading their way. Then Captain William Mitchell slid through the door of the room, closing it behind him. He looked just as he always had; short brown hair with a mustache to match, his commander uniform on. However, the stern look that was universally on his face was gone, replaced with the most amount of emotion that they had ever seen. In fact, as Avalon and Bailey watched him approach—his jerky movements showed he was trying his hardest to keep his composure—he appeared that he was on the edge of crying.

"Dad," Bailey said to him.

Avalon stayed silent.

"Avalon, Bailey." Captain Mitchell slowed to a stop a few feet away from them. He continued to look back and forth between the two girls. "I can't…it's been so long…you look so…"He let out a heavy sigh. "It's amazing to see you." He moved forward and gave the two girls a hug, which they tentatively returned. Grabbing the nearest chair behind him, he dragged it over and sat down. Nodding slightly, he continued to look back and forth between his daughters. "It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, Dad," Bailey replied quietly. She glanced over at Avalon, who was chewing her bottom lip, doing her best to keep from bursting out with everything she was feeling.

Avalon continued to watch her father's every movement, chest heaving up and down as she did her best to keep her anger from getting the best of her. But it was hard. She was staring at the face of the man that had, essentially, screwed her life over. If he hadn't have sent the two of them off, if he had checked to be sure that who was _supposed_ to have met them, had met them, she wouldn't have ended up in the Vipers and dealt with three years of dealing with pain to feel like someone cared.

It was enough to make her sick.

"H-How is everything?" Captain Mitchell asked tentatively. His deposition was a complete one-eighty from the way he had acted around Ellie. Dealing with the mother of his children was easy, they were adults, and they made their mistakes and had to work around it. But his children was different, he could tell they felt betrayed. He couldn't continue to act like the strong man that people looked up to when the results of the mistakes he had made, sat before him. The emotion of seeing his children again, something he had wanted for a while, was one thing. The hidden feelings of the three of them were another. "I heard that you're staying with your mother while you're out here—"

"Oh, bollocks. Cut the bullshit, Dad!" Avalon finally burst out. She leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. Captain Mitchell's eyes darted down towards the 'V' tattooed on the inside of her wrist, then back to her face. " _You_ sent a letter asking to see us! O why don't you just get to the point? Why did you want to see us? Why did you want to see us _now_ when you have all of those other chances to do it?"

"I…" Captain Mitchell steeled himself. This was what he was expecting; now he had to deal with it. "There have been some developments…I wanted to be able to talk to you two about what's going on. To explain myself."

"You've had three years to explain yourself and you want to do it now," Avalon reminded him.

"Why didn't you come when Mum came to visit us?" Bailey broke in. She was much calmer than her sister was, but the tiny bit of anger was evident in her tone. "Why didn't the both of you come? I know a things have happened between you lot but…you're our Dad."

Captain Mitchell ran his hands over his face. He was silent for a long time, trying to figure out which was the best way to explain himself. Was it better to start by explaining what happened to Ryan? Or was it better that he explain what he had accidentally done to Avalon all those years before? What was the real start of the story?

Sneering at her father, Avalon continued to keep her body positioned towards him. "Mum told us everything," she said to him. His head jerked up at her words and he regarded her with wide eyes. She knew he knew what he was talking about. "Everything. She told us that you two weren't married, that you might've gotten married but didn't. She told us about her not knowing you were married before, that you had _kids_ before." She started to speak through gritted teeth, her words coming out in a grind. "But you know what the worst part is, yeah? We found out about Ryan and Dana from our friends. They fucking knew before we did!" Now Avalon leaned back against the couch, crossing her legs at the knee. "So where are they? Ryan and Dana? I bet they're excited to meet us as we are to meet them."

Captain Mitchell lowered his head once more.

"Av," Bailey said to her sister in a warning.

 _Shut up Bay, I know you want to know too._ But Avalon didn't' say it out loud. She wanted answers to her questions no matter how long it would take to get them. Heart repeatedly slamming against her chest, a roar rushing in her ears, fingers twitched, itching for some sort of revelation that would keep her from wanting to release all of the pent up energy and anger that she had kept inside for too long.

"Dana doesn't know about you two," Captain Mitchell finally explained.

Avalon snorted, turning away from her father.

Bailey sank low in her eyes, face falling into a pout.

"But not because I was ashamed of you two. But to hide her from what I've done as well as for what happened to her brother… _your_ brother, Ryan." He cleared his throat. "Ryan isn't with me anymore." He had the orange and purple ranger's attention at those words. "One night…not long after their mother died….we were in a bad car accident. It was a rainy night, I lost control of the car and we went over a cliff. We were ejected from the ar. I managed to grab onto a branch that was protruding from the cliffside and had Dan in my other arm. Ryan was hanging onto my foot." He took a deep breath. "He started to slip and…I couldn't do anything other than to cry out for help, hoping that someone would hear me and help us.

"Then, all of a sudden, there was a demon that appeared before us. His name is Diabolico. He said that he would save Ryan, but only if I gave him to the demon in return. I refused at first that was my son, my eldest child; _I_ was going to save him. But then…" Captain Mitchell took a deep breath, his voice catching in his throat. "But then my shoe slipped off…and Ryan started to fall…I had no choice but to allow Diabolico to do what he wanted…I've never seen him again. Dana was young enough that she didn't remember Ryan and…I couldn't let her remember. After we were saved, I got rid of every existence of Ryan, it was…just too hard." He brought up a hand and wiped at his eyes.

"What does that have to do with what you decided to do with us?" Bailey whispered.

"I never told Dana this either. Her mother continued to defy the odds. She had cancer, beat it had Ryan, and years later found out that she had cancer again. This time, somehow, she didn't think she'd survive it and…one night I got drunk and ran into your mother. One thing led to another and I fell in love with her. She got pregnant with you, Av, and I soon found later that my wife was pregnant with Dana around the same time. It didn't take long until I confessed to my wife that I had cheated on her and while she was upset, she understood, in a way. She was angry, but she understood. She didn't want me to grieve for too long, she accepted it. She was always able to do that and I still feel guilty over it, though I know she would want me to move on.

"You and Dana were born and my wife passed. Time went on and I continued to see Ellie, like I said, I was in love with her. I know the two of us could've gotten married. Bailey's birth brought us closer together, but then my work started to get in the way. I wanted to figure out what it was that could combat Diabolico and that's when I started my research and found out the existence of power rangers in other galaxies. I worked hard on experiments that would explain the power and I had started to figure out the basis of it. I started to test it and…unfortunately, you got caught in the blast, Av. Ellie went ballistic and we got into a massive fight about our future and Ellie left me. I got full custody of you two because I had a better paying job."

"So you started to shuttle back and forth between the families," Bailey said. "So when we were with you, we were with Mum."

Captain Mitchell nodded. "When I was with you, Dana would be sent to stay with my mother and father. It wasn't hard to keep up at first, but then things got too difficult. I was moving up higher at my work and things were staring to get harder and harder. Ellie knew about you having been exposed to my work, Av, and was threatening to take you two away from me. I thought I was doing what was best and figured that it would be better if we had some time to talk things out on our own. So I sent you two to my sister, just for the time being. It wasn't until later that I found out that you two were on your own."

"And you still didn't come back for us," Avalon said. "And yet you've been following us. You know everything we've been doing. You knew about me and the Vipers and you knew how hard we were trying to survive."

"And if you know all that, why didn't you come when you heard that Av was shot?" Bailey demanded. She thought for a long moment then pointed at him, eyes narrowing. "Because you knew what the ramifications were going to be. You knew that people would find out that we were here in the US unattended and had no documentation and you would lose custody. You might even be investigated."

Captain Mitchell gave her a knowing smile. "You certainly are as smart as everyone says."

Avalon slowly sat up, trying to keep the horror that she felt out of her voice. "You did something didn't you?" She asked. Captain Mitchell glanced at her warily, suddenly appearing older than he was, more tired. "Mum already lost custody of us so everything would fall back on you…"

Captain Mitchell ran his hand over his mouth. "Cadence, I did what I thought was best for you two." Avalon scowled. He only called her Cadence when he was being serious of when she was in trouble. "When I sent you to Angel Grove, I did what I thought was best. If anyone found out about my experiments…that I accidentally exposed you to one of them, the same thing would've happened anyway."

"What?" Bailey breathed.

"I gave up custody of you. The exploitation of what we've been doing—"

"YOU WHAT?!" Avalon shouted, leaping to her feet. "Don't you think you've already damaged our lives enough?! All because you wanted to keep people from finding out what you've done before hand?" Hot tears started to fall down her cheeks as she glared at him. "How could you do that? Do you ever think about someone other than yourself? Did you ever stop to think about how bloody _terrible_ our lives have been? I've been beaten, shot at, shot, threatened, maced, and chased by police all because I fell in with the wrong people because you _FUCKING SENT US AWAY!"_ She stamped her foot on the ground. "I hate you!"

Captain Mitchell stood up and grabbed onto her shoulders, keeping his face close to hers, trying to get her to look at him. "Cadence, listen to me. I did this for you and Abigail. I needed to be sure that you two would get the best sort of protection that you could. Your life in Angel Grove is ten times better than the one you've had here. The friends you have, they're doing their best to protect you, their parents…all of them. Who else would allow people they barely know to stay in their homes? Your grades are improving; you got a job, your take care of sister a lot better than I could've ever taken care of you. How would you feel if I kept you two and you found out about this by me going to jail."

"Going to jail?" Bailey finally broke in. She had been crying quietly, now wiping the tears off of her cheeks, her glasses knocked askew as she did so. "What for?" Her lower lip trembled.

"For the endangerment that I put you through." Captain Mitchell turned and reached out a hand towards his youngest daughter. Bailey took it and allowed herself to get pulled up to stand next to her sister. "The DSS would've been on my tail and I would've lost custody _and_ of Dana. Despite that, if you weren't sent to the orphanage, you would've been sent to Angel Grove to see my sister, anyway."

"So you're saying that no matter what happened we would've ended up in Angel Grove anyway?" Bailey whimpered. "But…you willingly gave us up…don't you love us anymore?"

"Of course I love you! I'll always love you. I just want what's best for you."

"You've got a funny way of showing it," Avalon grumbled.

A heavy sigh escaped from Captain Mitchell's lips. Though he finally got out everything he had wanted to say, and while relief had moved through his body at the revelation, he knew it would take a long time for them to trust him or even to allow themselves to see what he had done was for their own good. "Please...I want nothing but what's best for you two…for all of my kids. It was hard to make the decision about Ryan…this decision was even harder…but I did what was best." He sniffed loudly. "Please…you have to know that. You have to forgive me."

"Daddy…" Bailey whimpered before turning and pressing her face into Avalon's side.

Avalon looked up at her father. She could see the anguish in his face, the unfamiliarity of being able to tell someone everything he had kept quiet. Being a captain he was supposed to keep up appearances that everything in all aspects of his life and it had clearly taken its toll on him. Not only was he keeping secrets left and right, not only had he tried to keep all of his children happy and protected, but he really had been in a bind with all of the decision that he had to make.

She was angry at him, angrier than she had ever been in her entire life and yet…

"I can forgive you."

Bailey lifted her head and looked up at Avalon in surprise. She turned to her father and noticed that he was staring down at her with the same amount of shock and surprise.

"I can forgive you," Avalon repeated. When she spoke again, her voice was low and dark. "I forgive you. But I'm never going to forget what you did."


	39. Girl Talk

**Chapter 39**

_Girl Talk_

* * *

 

Kimberly smiled, stretching her arms over her head as she walked into her backyard and stretched out on her hammock. As much as she had enjoyed being in Australia for that week, it was good to be home. She needed the time away, not only was it a good way to get some time to experience something through school not a lot of other people would be able to do, but it was a good way for her to get away from her mother for a while.

Even when she had been leaving to go on the trip things had been tense between the two of them. Of course it probably had to do with the fact that Mrs. Hart knew Tommy was going to be on the trip as well and she had basically put an end to the relationship. Not that Mrs. Hart knew they were dating in secret, they were too careful for that, but the threat of her going further with it, wanting her daughter to focus on herself.

But truthfully, she wouldn't know what she would do without her. Rita and Zedd had already taken their parents hostage with one plan and she had immediately given up her Power Coin just to be sure that her mother was safe. She didn't know what she would do if that ever happened again.

Kimberly sighed again, gently pushing herself back and forth with the foot that continued to lie on the ground. Her hazel eyes moved across the sky, watching as the fluffy clouds raced against the oceanic background. She loved her mother, she really did, but she couldn't help but wonder if this would still be going on if her father was still around.

Even she and Rocky, surprisingly, had a pleasant conversation about it. On one of the last few days of the trip, they had been doing their laundry; marveling over the fact that Australians dried their clothes with a clothes line rather than using an actual dryer. They were moving to get it done quickly after having to wash the clothes twice due to a sudden storm that had materialized overnight. Though it had been funny as the rangers had to quickly run outside and grab their clothes before they got worse.

"I can't believe our trip is almost over already," Rocky had said as they removed their clothes from the line. The sun had come back out and their clothes had dried quickly, giving them the chance to bask in the glorious weather once more. He reached up to pluck his dry clothes off of the clothes line, placing them in his bag. "It's been really great. I never thought I'd be able to come this far in the world, let alone in general."

Kimberly, who was standing beside him, looked at him with a warm smile. "Do you not get to travel a lot?"

Rocky shrugged, bobbing his head back and forth. "Well, at home it's just me and my Mom and my four brothers and sisters." He scratched his jaw for a moment before continuing. "My Dad hasn't been in the picture for a while; I usually try to act like he didn't exist."

"Divorce?" Kim pressed gently.

"No…after Maria was born he just split. It was really hard on us for a while, but Mom and I bounced back. I really had to step up and be the father figure and brother to all of them. Mom doesn't really like that; she wants me to be a teenager and for her to be both parents." Rocky shook his head. "But with five kids, it's hard to do that by herself."

Kimberly made a sound but otherwise didn't respond for a few minutes. She continued to pull her clothes from the clothes line and folded it up, placing it carefully in her bag.

"Hey Kim?" Rocky stated, grabbing he pink ranger's attention. She turned back to him. "Your mother is divorced, right?"

Kimberly let out a quiet sigh. It had happened a long time ago, but it still hurt. Especially since she and her mother weren't on the best of terms at the moment. She didn't allow herself to think about her father as he wasn't around anyway. "Yeah, they've been divorced for a long time," she replied.

"Does it ever get easier?"

Kimberly paused and looked over at him. He was looking back at her with an earnest expression, as if waiting for her to take him by the hand and tell him that everything was going to be alright. That things were going to get better within the next minute and that they would, all of a sudden, not have to worry about anything.

"It takes some time," she admitted. "But it does. Soon you'll remember that the life that you have now…without him…is probably better than what would've happened if he did stick around."

Rocky smiled and nodded.

The prink ranger smiled back as the balmy breeze floated around her. The past week was the best experience she had ever been able to have. She definitely agreed with Rocky; she never expected to be able to go. But now that they were able to experience the sights and sounds of Australia she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave the next day. Avalon seemed to be the same way, after having come back from when she and Bailey disappeared—she was sure it was to visit her father—she had been visibly upset at first, but since ten had been the happiest that any of the rangers had seen.

She was glad to jump out of bed each and every morning and show the rangers and their classmates around to whatever landmark they wanted to see. The only blemish, constant blemish as the case was, on the trip was the little fights with Scorpina.

 _I can't believe Sabrina's, Scorpina,_ Kimberly thought. She frowned, slowly halting her pushing, continuing to stare up at the sky. The revelation of Tommy being the green ranger was bad, but this was worse. Tommy had been destined to be a ranger; he had just been turned evil. The scorpion monster was a completely innocent person that had been stuck in Rita's and Zedd's spells and plans. And it continued to show through the fights as their trip went on. After, the first day, having seen that it was Sabrina who really _was_ Scorpina, the rangers realized they had to fight her in different ways then they had before. And as the week went on, there were still fights with her they had to deal with.

The rangers were starting to become really good at skipping out on some sort of activity with their classmates to deal with Scorpina. Though the fights continued to get more and more difficult and longer and longer, they still managed to keep their secrets from being exposed while on their vacation. Though the constant bruises and bandages were becoming harder to excuse.

"I'm not saying that we can't fight her," Billy had said after the rangers had gone over what they knew once more. "I'm just saying that we have to be smart about it. What if she suddenly turns back in the middle of a blow and we accidentally…" he trailed off, not wanting to speak the potential consequences out loud.

But it had done its job. The rangers shifted uncomfortably as they turned to look at each other. If Billy was the one that was telling them to worry, then it was something they really needed to think about. He continued as his friends were silent. "Then there's the fact that we're not sure if she even _knows_ that she turns into Scorpina."

"She knows," Adam said firmly. "I know she knows. I saw—"he broke off, turning away for a moment. "I saw the way she looked at me when she was trying hard to keep herself form changing. I don't know what it was…maybe a spell placed upon her by Rita and Zedd?"

"Is that even possible?" Aisha asked, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees as she sat perched on the love-seat, squeezed in beside Rocky.

"After becoming a ranger, I stopped questioning a lot of things," Rocky said to her, causing her to smile and gently jostle him on the arm.

"Or maybe it was that she was inhabited _by_ Scorpina," Bailey suggested. She turned to Billy and Kim. "You guys said that you've fought her before…when Tommy was the green ranger?" The blue and pink rangers had nodded and the purple ranger started to pace back and forth, tapping her chin. "So how was it that she was able to be there, with no instances of her turning back to Sabrina and then turn back now?" She paused for a moment and then snapped her fingers. "When Rita and Zedd created the horoscope monsters what if they created them due to their power?"

"It would make sense," Avalon agreed, sitting on the floor. Since returning from the meeting with her father, she had been sullen and quiet for a while, but slowly warmed up as time went on. "All of the ones we've faced so far…Sagittaria was a bitch to get rid of, Scorpina is becoming harder and harder, and with the few that we have left, they're bound to be the toughest things we've ever needed to face."

"In that case, what's a good way to make sure that the monster _stays_ strong?" Bailey continued, after having pointed at her sister, indicating that she had helped move her conclusion along. "We've seen, due to that one time in the high school, that Rita and Zedd have been watching us for ages and wanted to get a way inside."

"Which is why they sent Scorpina in," Tommy said. "Because of her being able to turn into Sabrina when they wanted her too." His eyes widened. "So they found a girl that was going to be coming to our school and, with their magic, made it so that Scorpina could inhabit her."

"Exactly," Bailey said. "They're two people and yet, they're one of the same, yeah? So we need to find a way to get them to be split apart or else…"she looked at Adam grimly. "Get rid of her all together."

He had shifted in his seat and looked away.

Kimberly sighed. She hadn't wanted to think about that. Adam had been sort of quiet since then, not that it was unusual. He was the quietest of the group, not really coming out of his shell. He had made a bit of progress, but this had brought him back in. She understood how he felt; even when Tommy was evil she still had her beginning feelings for him. _Maybe I should talk to him about it,_ she thought.

Then, of course, that had brought her to the memory of having met Avalon's friend, Karen. She was…probably as energetic as the pink ranger was, if that was even possible. Kimberly giggled to herself as she thought about it.

Kimberly and Rocky had finished taking their clothing down from the clothes line and started to walk back into the apartment, coming across a girl around their age as she walked up the sidewalk. "G'day," she greeted them. "Is Avalon home?"

"Uh." Kimberly shifted her bag in her arms, looking over at Rocky before turning back to her. "Yeah, she's upstairs. We're staying with her right now for a class trip." She placed her hand on her chest before motioning to Rocky as well. "I'm Kimberly and this is Rocky."

"Nice to meet you," Rocky said to the girl.

"Oh! You're the Yanks that she's been talking about," the girl replied. Kimberly and Rocky exchanged glances. "I don't mean to be rude; I'm not saying anything bad. Just a way to say Americans." She paused for a second, understanding her blunder and how it could come across as rude. "I'm sorry. I'm Karen, by the way." She gave a quick wave. "You said Av was home?"

"Yeah, we're going up there right now," Kimberly said. She turned on her heel and she and Rocky headed back into the apartment building. Looking at Rocky out of the corner of her eye she noticed that he had the same expression on his face. Who was this girl and was it someone they had to be wary about? Then again, even while out in Australia she didn't talk much about her school or the friends she had before. _Maybe, despite the fact that she's happy to be here, there's too much of her life she doesn't want to share. Maybe some parts are too painful._ The two went back into the apartment with Kimberly calling, "Av, someone's here to see you."

"Who is it?" she shouted back from the kitchen.

Karen pushed by Kimberly and strode into the house, not seeming to notice the rangers, who were scattered along the apartment. "What do you mean 'who is it'?" She shouted back.

Kimberly came around the corner, placing her bag on the ground and watched as the orange ranger, who was standing at the stove with her mother and sister, whirled around at the sound of the voice. Her eyes widened for a second then she beamed before hurrying over to the girl. "Bear!" She cried, throwing her arms around her.

"Flare!" Karen shouted back, hugging her just as tightly, the two rocking back and forth. "You didn't tell me you were coming back," she said after the two let go. She swatted the orange ranger on the arm and placed her hands on her hips. "And I thought you told me everything."

"I didn't know I was coming back," Avalon admitted. She scratched the back of her head. "Otherwise, I would've told you." She put her arm around the girl's shoulders and hugged her again before turning her to her friends. "Guys, this is my best mate, Karen. Karen this is Tommy, Kimberly, Aisha, Rocky, Adam, and Billy." She then turned Karen back to the kitchen. "And you remember my Mum and Bay."

"It's nice to meet you all," Karen said. She gave an apologetic smile to Kimberly and Rocky. "I've already met these two. Sorta, put my foot in my mouth."

"Beauty." Avalon rolled her eyes. "She's an ace sheila, but foot in the mouth is her specialty."

 _There's still so much we don't know about her,_ Kimberly thought. _She never told us about Karen, she didn't tell us what went on with Captain Mitchell, and she still avoids talking about the Vipers when she has to._

Kimberly smirked to herself, sitting up on the hammock when she heard the back door to the house close. Karen had been pretty cool, but Avalon was right when she said she put her foot in her mouth too much. As she and the rangers had gone to the beach and played round after round of volleyball and even tried to be taught how to surf from her, Avalon, and Bailey, which resulted in some of the more humorous happenings of the trip. Still, it was kind of weird that Av never mentioned her before, though, admittedly, there was a lot she didn't want to mention.

Though Kimberly was also sure Avalon didn't mention her simply for the fact that Karen was such a flirt. The whole time they had been on the beach, Karen paid special attention to the boys. Kimberly was never one that was a jealous person, but she couldn't help but feel like her head was going to explode when she draped herself over Tommy. Avalon had quickly explained that she was just a friendly girl, but the orange ranger was annoyed too.

 _Maybe she really has left her old life in Australia behind. _Kimberly didn't have much time to think about it as the orange ranger approached her.

"I thought I heard you coming," she commented to Avalon, who strolled across the grass over to her.

"Am I really that loud?" The orange ranger asked with an amused smile.

"No, I was just waiting for you," Kimberly said. She patted the hammock next to her and Avalon sat down on the end of the hammock, leaning over to take off her shoes and sock before swinging her legs up and lying down on the hammock next to her. "I was just thinking about our trip."

"It was fun, wasn't it?" Avalon's eyes lit up. "I still can't believe that you guys made it so that we were able to go. We had a blast." She then smirked. "Though I'm sure that Bay wished Fred could've gone too. But I can only use my mischievous powers for one person at a time."

Kimberly laughed, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I can imagine," she said. "We had a great time and you showed us a lot while we were there. We couldn't have gone with you; it wouldn't have been the same."

Avalon nodded. "Was that all you were thinking about?"

"I was thinking about a lot," Kimberly admitted. "But we never really got a chance to talk about the whole thing with Chase while we were there." Avalon nodded, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "You said you got a letter from him."

"Yeah, and another one when we got back," Avalon admitted. Kimberly's eyebrows rose and the orange ranger shook her head. "Which is strange 'cause the last letter I got was from Dad saying he wanted to see us before we went home. That was why I was so upset about not being able to go home. There was a part of me that wanted to hear what he had to say after all of these years and having that opportunity and it then being taken away nearly destroyed me. Though I wasn't even sure if I _wanted_ to see him."

"But you ended up going."

"Yeah…and I'm glad I was finally able to. Things are going to be aggro for a while, but…at least we're making progress."

"That's good," Kimberly pressed. She started to push the hammock back and forth once more. "So what's going on with Chase? You said that he sent you another letter? What do you think he has to say? Did you open this one?"

"No." Avalon shook her head. "But I can already tell how it's going to go. 'Dear Pinky' blah, blah, blah." She leaned forward, resting her chin against her knees. "He was always the eloquent one. I'm sure there are a few curse words being thrown in here and there, just to liven things up a bit."

Kimberly chuckled. She studied the orange ranger for a long moment. She had really changed since she first met her. She wasn't as confrontational as she had been before, not as standoffish and her look had changed. Before she would always wear a leather jacket along with everything, probably what signified she was in the Vipers. And she was starting to show more of her personality; easily excitable—much like Bailey—outgoing, witty, and was pretty good at listening and giving advice.

"Av, why did you go out with him in the first place?" She asked.

Avalon gave her a funny look. "Well, he's good looking for one thing," she said. "That much is painfully obvious. I don't know; he's charismatic when he wants to be. He's loyal, ambitious—"

"And those are just the good qualities," Kimberly pointed out. "Don't forget that he threatened you time and time again, beat you when he needed to prove a point, and was manipulative. Don't you think he was abusive?"

Avalon suddenly looked annoyed. "No, he wasn't abusive."

"Really?"

"Really. For one, he rarely, if ever hit me—"

"So the bruises that you came to school with were imaginary?"

"—and he protected me as much as he could when the time came."

"Why are you getting so defensive?"

Avalon ran her hands over her face, shoulders slumping. "Because he's not a bad guy," she insisted. "You can say I'm brainwashed or manipulated or whatever, but I got to know him more than anyone else did. There were a lot of times where he showed how nice of a person he was. The only reason he was in the gang was because it ran in his family, his father, brother, and uncles are in jail because of it. His mother tried her hardest to keep him out of the gang as he grew up, but after having graduated high school and having no other plans he could only stay away from it for so long." She gritted her teeth. "I hate the guy, but I can't help but feel bad for him, too."

Kimberly reached out and grabbed onto Avalon's hands. "I know you—"

"Kim, Summer was the one that shot me, not Chase," Avalon interrupted. "He turned himself in for the crime while Summer and Skye ran off. So excuse me if I feel a little indebted to him over it." She shook her head. "If not a little confused."

"Were you in love with him?"

Avalon looked horrified. "Definitely not," she said. "But, like I said, he's done a lot for me, yeah? Basically keeping me alive since I got here."

"The Cranstons have been keeping you alive since you got here," Kimberly reminded her gently. "They took you in, no questions asked, and will continue to do so without having to put anyone in danger while they do it. They're letting you stay in contact with your parents because they know how important it is for you, Lacey bought you your prom dress, David's helped you out with whatever you needed. And while I'm sure they'll let you make the decision of whether or not you want to keep in contact with Chase, the reason they'd do that is because they know that it's best for you to decide what to do."

Avalon hummed, running her hand through her hair, which Kimberly now figured out was her nervous habit, if not a way to draw attention away from her facial expressions. "Kim, you said that Tommy was evil before, and I know it was under Rita's spell, but…how'd you get over that?"

The pink ranger blinked in surprise. She hadn't thought that it would be a similar experience but realized that despite a few of the circumstances, they had been through similar experiences, only one being through real life. It was a big moral tribulation. Despite not having shot Chase, he did deserve to be in jail for everything else he had done and yet…Av was a bit indebted to him.

"It was hard," she admitted. "He tried to destroy us on more than one occasion and actually came close to doing so. But…I still liked him; I knew he was still somewhere deep inside the green ranger. There was always a way to break through the spell other than getting that green candle and I know he could hear me whenever I tried to talk to him." She scratched her neck. "I guess that didn't help much. Look, Av, I'm just worried about you."

"I know. It seems that no matter what I do, you guys are always going to worry," Avalon muttered.

"But that's what friends are for," Kimberly reminded her. "And I know you feel the same whenever we're in battle. As soon as one of us gets hurt you're always the first one to come help us out." She giggled. "Sure, that drove Jason nuts sometimes because you would do it without a plan, but still."

Avalon rolled her eyes. "He could act like such a Dad sometimes."

"More like a big brother," Kimberly defended the former red ranger. "He did the same to me, to help me out when guys I weren't interested in started to hit on me." Now she rolled her eyes. "Like Bulk and Skull, they could never take 'no' for an answer."

"Huh, sounds like someone else I know."

The two girls laughed and basked in the silence for a long moment, gently swinging back and forth, taking in the Californian breeze as the hammock hovered over the ground. Kimberly closed her eyes against the breeze, imagining her inner fireboard soaring through the skies, pushing away every problem that was around and just soaring.

A smile stretched across the pink ranger's face.

"Hey Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No worries." Kimberly giggled as Avalon let out an exasperated sigh, but couldn't keep the smile off her face.


	40. The Monster Out In You

**Chapter 40**

_The Monster Out In You_

Kimberly, who had been sitting at her desk, leaning into her mirror, gently ran a finger over the side of her face. There was really nothing there that would cause her to be so worried about how she looked, and yet, she still couldn't help but think about the past battles they had been in. Each and every one had her sent to the ground or crying out to her friends for some help.

With a sigh, she rolled out of her desk chair and stretched out on the floor, staring a set of push-ups. She focused on the rhythmic pattern of her breathing as she lowered herself to the floor and brought herself back up once more. _Don't focus on the way you look, Kim,_ she reminded herself. _You're not fat. You're not overweight. You just…need to get stronger so you can help your friends in battle more._

The pink ranger continued to lower and raise herself from the floor, arms shaking with the effort after the first thirty, consecutive push-ups. Sweat gathered on her forehead as she slowed to a stop then rolled to her back and brought her hands behind her head, lacing her fingers together. Sucking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Kimberly brought herself up into a sit up and then rhythmically brought herself back and forth as quickly as she could.

"Kim, may I speak with you?"

Frozen in mid-crunch, Kimberly mulled it over for a long moment. But then the burn in her core caused her to start trembling before she collapsed back onto the ground, arms stretched out. "Yeah, Mom," she called back. "Come on in." The door to the room cracked open and Kimberly watched as her mother gazed around the room before her gaze lowered and she spotted her daughter on the floor.

"There you are," Mrs. Hart said, entering the room. "I was thinking we could talk some more." She crossed her arms over her chest, gently tugging the sleeves of her sweater. "After we had some time to think about things while you were away."

Kimberly snorted, the corner of her mouth lifting up. "Sending me on the trip with him seemed to negate the point you were trying to make," she pointed out. Blinking, Kimberly's smile turned into a wry one when she realized she had taken on some of the vernacular that Billy had used around her for as long as she had known him.

Mrs. Hart sighed, walking over to her daughter's bed and sitting down on the end of it. She crossed her legs. "I know things were really tough between us when you left, but I just wish that we would get some time to talk to each other about it."

"About what, Mom?" Kimberly sat up, wrapping her arms around her knees. "You don't want me to date Tommy anymore. How am I supposed to feel about that?"

"I just want what's best for you, Kim."

"And Tommy _is_ what's best for me," Kimberly insisted. "I know, that, Mom. He's…he's the only thing that makes me really happy." She placed a hand on her chest, turning her gaze away from her mother, trying to figure out the best words that would explain how she was feeling. "There's nothing else that's been able to do it, other than gymnastics and…gymnastics can't love you back."

Mrs. Hart ran her hands over her face before pressing her palms together. She looked hard at her daughter before bringing her hands away from her mouth. "Can't you at least _try_ to see what I'm doing here?"

"Ok, Mom, w hat are you doing?"

"I want you to have everything in life that you want," Mrs. Hart explained. "I want you to have the best work ethic you can put into every aspect of your life. Gymnastics is something you love and what you've always loved and I want you to be able to have that career go as far as you want. It won't happen if you can't keep up with your school work as well. Especially since you're always going off to be with Tommy."

Kimberly pressed her lips together, angry. This was the best moment of her to tell her that she was a power ranger and yet…she couldn't. She saw what had happened to Zack when he had lost his powers. He had to have broken one of the rules of being a ranger, and not having anyone know their identity was one of them. Avalon's parents knowing was a different case, as they had found out themselves, Captain Mitchell having, in a way, been the one that caused Avalon and Bailey to get their powers.

She couldn't handle the thought of losing her powers, not when things were getting tougher as the days past. It was only a matter of time until they faced an enemy they couldn't defeat and they would need to be on top of their game if that were to happen.

 _And we won't be able to win if I don't get stronger,_ Kimberly thought. She chewed her lower lip, clenching her hands into fists. _I can't talk to her anymore. Not about this, she just doesn't want to listen._ "Just stop it, Mom!" She cried. "I'm doing a lot more than just hanging out with Tommy! I hang out with my other friends too! I do gymnastics, I'm head of the gardening club, I work with the Little Angels, I do my homework, I teach dance classes, I do…a lot of things and the only thing you can focus on is the fact that Tommy is one of the few things that keep me sane and not wanting to rip my hair out!" Kimberly got to her feet and glared at her mother. "The only reason you're trying to keep us apart is because you're bitter! And jealous! And sad! Because you and Dad got divorced and now you're trying to find someone who loves you as much as Tommy loves me! "

Mrs. Hart's mouth dropped open for a moment before her face hardened. She continued to watch her daughter, who glared back at her, fists shaking at her sides. Then the hardened expression dropped and hurt replaced it. Kimberly's shoulders slumped for a moment when she saw the shift.

"Mom—"

Mrs. Hart raised her hand and Kimberly fell silent, watching as her mother walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind her. Kimberly closed her mouth and looked at her feet as tears welled in her eyes. That wasn't what she wanted to happen. She wanted to try and explain how things were just so hard, how Tommy wasn't the only problem…how she felt nothing bust stress in all areas of her life. How she felt she wasn't good at anything compared to her friends and that having gymnastic as her 'thing' didn't make her feel as special as it used to, not when she knew her age was already putting her on a short shelf life in the sport.

And…maybe she had wanted to talk about her Dad and how he hadn't been around since he left them. She hadn't realized how much it bothered her until having been in Australia and seeing how Avalon and Bailey's relationship with their mother had improved and continued to improve as time went on. All of that had bubbled up inside her and came out in the worst way she could have it come out, lashing out at her mother, who wanted nothing more than to protect her only daughter.

Her only child.

Numb, Kimberly turned back towards her desk and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She didn't recognize herself. All of her insecurities had changed her from the girl that she liked to see in the mirror to something she couldn't stand looking at.

Stomach lurching, Kimberly turned and raced into her bathroom as quickly as her feet could take her. She threw herself to her knees and lifted up the toilet seat in enough time for her stomach to convulse once more. With a cry, Kimberly closed her eyes and opened her mouth as her stomach expelled its contents. Wiping away the tears that accompanied it, Kimberly reached out and grabbed the toilet paper roll beside her and pulled off a section, wiping off her lips.

"So gross," she mumbled, opening her eyes. Wincing, she turned away, tossing the toilet paper inside. Bringing a hand down, the pink ranger wrapped her arm around her stomach. Palm resting against her flat stomach, she gently rubbed it, hoping the pain would go away.

But, there was no pain.

In fact, she felt good. Better than she had before she argued with her mother. Turning her eyes back to the toilet, Kimberly's hand, which wasn't gripping her stomach, tightened against the toilet bowl. It was cool under her fingertips, calming her down even further.

Shaking, Kimberly turned towards the toilet bowl once more, breathing heavily. _You feel good. And feeling good is the minds space you need to be in to get stronger. That's what Jase always told you, being strong is just as mental as it is physical._ With that, Kimberly reached up with the hand that had been on her stomach and slowly brought it towards her mouth.

Slowly widening her jaw, rosy lips parting, she closed her eyes and stuck a finger into her mouth, as far back as she could go, and then wiggled it. The response was almost immediate, her throat clamped down on her finger and she choked before pulling it back and she threw up again.

Once finished, Kimberly flushed the toilet and climbed to her feet and went over to the sink, washing off her hands. She felt so much better, enough so that there was a tiny smile on her face. When was the last time she had smiled? When was the last time she had been completely happy with no worries in the world? Too long, she couldn't remember exactly.

But now she felt like she could do anything.

 _I think I'll go pay Billy a visit,_ she thought. _Maybe he can help me get better at some of the fighting we were working on._ Leaving the bathroom, Kimberly skipped over to her bed and sat down, pulling on her shoes before teleporting to the Cranston house, landing in his driveway. Billy, who had been dragging a hose out of the garage at the moment of her appearance, smiled warmly at her.

"Hey Kim," he greeted the pink ranger. "What are you doing here?"

"What? I can't visit you?" She replied, clasping her hands together as she walked over to him. "Actually, my Mom and I got into this really big fight and I needed some time to get away."

Billy's eyebrows rose as he dropped the hose to the ground. He moved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and regarded her for a long moment. "Wouldn't you rather talk to Tommy about that?" He asked. "I thought you two told each other everything."

"We do," Kimberly agreed quickly. "It's just…we were fighting about him and…I'd really rather not talk about it." She brushed her hair behind her ears and glanced down at the hose that he had pulled up to the drainage ditch by the foot of the driveway. "So…what are you doing? Do you need any help?"

"I'd love some, actually," Billy replied. He waved a hand and started back towards the garage with Kimberly trotting behind him. "I got the Azurite Healiodore from the Command Center and I'm doing some tests on it," he explained. "Not only are there so many things about it that we don't know, but I'm wondering if it still has the properties from the powers it took from us."

"So the hose does what exactly?" Kimberly asked. Crossing her arms over her chest, she watched as Billy unraveled another hose and started to carry it down the driveway. Instead of following him, Kimberly watched the blue ranger with her eyes. "I mean, other than transfer water from a faucet down to the drainage ditch."

Billy gave her a kind smile. "You almost have it, actually." He went over to the table she was leaning against and motioned for her to turn around. Amongst the contraptions and beakers that were constantly set up, there was a glass dome that covered the Azurite Healiodore. Pulling on a pair of gloves, Billy carefully took off the plastic dome before reaching in and grabbed the gem. "I plan on seeing if I can connect myself to the powers that were taken from me."

"And you plan on directing the water through the hose to be sure that your laboratory doesn't get destroyed!" Kimberly exclaimed. Excitedly, she clasped her hands together. "That's such a great idea! I don't know why we didn't think of that before." She then lightly bopped herself on the side of the head. "Then again, it's like you said. We don't know a lot about this thing. Well, if anyone can figure it out, you can."

Billy smirked. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, but even I don't think everything can be explained as simply as we'd want them to be." His smirk faded as he gazed over the gem in his hands. "This gemstone has a different source of power for whoever has it, as we've seen. Goldar became nearly invincible when we were fighting him because of that power. But…when we touched it…it took back the powers that we had been given from the Power Cube."

"So…" Kimberly paused, not sure if she should give her two cents on the situation. _This is what you're working on, Kim. You want to be taken seriously in all different aspects of your life._ "What if it's made from the same sort of power from the Ankylosaurus Power Coin?"

Rubbing his chin with his free hand, Billy nodded for a moment. "That's a very out of the ordinary thought, Kim." He reached over and picked up a pen, scribbling a few notes on the notepad that was beside him. The pink ranger glanced over at the blue ranger and he nodded in encouragement. "Go on."

"Zordon and Alpha explained that the Ankylosaurus Power Coin is one of the ones that can be used by whoever takes hold of it. If someone other than Bailey got it, say, one of the gang members or something. They could've worked like Tommy did when he was under Rita's spell. And we know that we're all able to have the ability of becoming a ranger because of 'The Power' that Zordon and Alpha speak about. But was 'The Power' the one that created the Power Coins?"

"What would that mean?"

"How was the Tiger Zord Power Coin created? We don't know if Zordon made it or if he came upon it." Kimberly let out a breath, blowing her bangs off of her forehead before her eyebrows knitted together. "So it brings us all to the fact that…the Power Coins were created by someone somewhere and they had to have had something happen for the Ankylosaurus Power Coin to be used by anyone or that they found there had to be some sort of a balance. The White Tiger power signifies light; Tyrannosaurus signifies fire, Triceratops; water, Saber-tooth Tiger; Lightning, Pterodactyl; Wind, Mastodon; psychic. What if the Ankylosaurus power holds the power of darkness?"

Billy slowly started to smile. "Then what about the Stegosaurus?"

Kimberly twisted her mouth to the side before shrugging. "That seems to be fire as well," she said. "I don't understand how that happened, but it is what it is." She crossed her arms over her chest. "So, like, what if the Azurite Healiodore comes from the same place as the Power Coins were created?"

There was a brief moment of silence. Kimberly's gaze moved to her feet as the silence continued to swirl around her. Had she said something wrong? Were her ideas stupid? _Way to go, Kim. It's no wonder people don't take you seriously. You talk about things you have no business talking about. You should just go back to focusing on your gymnastics._ She heard a sound then looked p, noticing Billy was chuckling as he looked down at the Healiodore in his hand.

"Seriously, Kim, that was something that I don't think I would've come up with," He said.

The pink ranger beamed so hard her cheeks immediately started to hurt. "Really?"

"Really. I think of things…" Billy paused so that he could figure out what he was trying to say. Which caused Kimberly to giggle. Watching him be so passionate about his interests was always nice to see. There weren't many people around him that found his interests 'normal' in any sense. Bulk and Skull had teased him about it enough over the years. It was good to see that he was turning into such a confident young man. She certainly didn't need to protect him much anymore. "I think of things a in a linear way; so that they go in a straight line. You think outside of the box and that's a nice change."

His gloved hand closing over the gem his face scrunched up in concentration as he tried his hardest to tap into the power that he used to control the water before. And still, the gem remained as silent and unresponsive as ever, causing him to frown.

She could practically see the gears turning in his head, the emotions in his face ranging from frustration to disbelief. He probably hadn't had this amount of failure while trying to figure something out before in his entire life. Reaching out a hand, Kimberly rubbed his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Billy; I'm sure we'll figure it out soon."

"Yeah, but will it be before or after Goldar gets it back?" Billy pointed out. "I know I'm being a bit of a pessimist, but Rita have managed to get someone into the Command Center before, we're not going to be able to keep everything out. In some way, they're going to try and get this back. I don't want them to figure out the source behind its power before we do." He returned the gem to its holster and covered it with the glass dome.

"Then I suggest that you don't leave it in your garage."

"Very funny, Kim."

"I try."

Kimberly pulled herself up onto a stool and crossed her legs at the knee, watching s Billy sat down in his computer chair and picked up his notebook. Looking down at it, he propelled himself across the garage floor and over to his computer where he booted up a file and started to type rapidly in it. Kimberly watched him for a long moment before speaking up.

"So where are Avalon and Bailey?"

Billy concentrated on the computer in front of him but answered. "I took Ava to work earlier today and Bay went with her." He smirked. "She wanted to make sure that Ava didn't bite the heads off of any customer that came her way, but knowing her, she just wanted an excuse to read for hours without having to be kicked out. She said before they had started to go to school she would sit in the library and read all day."

"That's nice," Kimberly said. "I used to love reading time when we were kids." She uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way, tilting her head to the side as she studied the blue ranger.

He had grown quite handsome, far from the shy, bumbling boy that was constantly pushing his glasses up his nose and blushed whenever someone would even look at him. She had been excited for him and Trini when they started going out and just as upset for the two of them when they had broken up. And yet, true to Billy form, he continued to focus on his friends' happiness, not focusing long on his own unhappiness that would come from that. She knew if the situation had been about her and Tommy, if she was the one leaving, Tommy would do nothing but fight for her to stay. But Tommy wasn't Billy and the pink ranger loved how selfless the blue ranger could be.

"Billy, can I ask you something?"

"I believe the correct form you're trying to use is, 'May you ask me something' and, yes, you may."

Kimberly stuck her tongue out at the blue ranger before giving him a sly smile. One of the things she was great at was matchmaking, and she had tried it with Trini before he asked her out. When it came to matters of the hart, the firebird was never wrong. "Do you like Avalon?"

Billy froze at the computer before turning to face her. "Do I _like_ her?" He repeated, blinking rapidly, as if the idea was completely foreign to him. He scratched the side of his neck. "Yes, I do believe that I do have a mind-set akin to fondness of her."

Rolling her eyes, the pink ranger shook her head. "That's not what I meant, Billy."

"Then I suggest you get into the habit of saying what you mean." His playful smirk, which she noticed was on his face more often now than ever before, causing her to roll her eyes once more. His face then turned serious. "What were you and your mother fighting about?"

She blinked in surprise. "Oh, I was…well…"she let out a quiet sigh. "We were fighting about Tommy, actually." His eyebrows flower upwards before he gave her his undivided attention. "It's just…Mom says that I can't date him, because she thinks I'm too into him. When, in reality, it's all of this power ranger stuff, I've just been using him as an excuse." Billy nodded. "I don't know, Billy, I've never wanted to tell Mom more than ever what I'm doing. But…if I do I lose my powers. Why would something that'd be so good for our relationships, so helpful, potentially end up making Angel Grove defenseless?" She lifted a hand, weakly dropping it to her lap. "I mean, Zack did it."

"Zack escalated a fight, Kim; he didn't tell anyone his identity."

"Still, he lost his powers."

"It was bound to happen to any of us at some point."

"But Zack? He's the one that can do anything with a smile on his face and being the friendliest person you could ever meet. He didn't deserve to have that happen."

"No one _deserves_ to have it happen, Kim, statistically speaking it was something that was bound to happen," Billy insisted. "Especially considering we don't know how many rangers there were before us. The rules had to be made for a reason it's not something that, all of a sudden, they come up with." He ran a hand through his hair. "And anyway, it's one of the least of our worries at the moment. But, as it stands, I think you should talk to your mother more, or at least try to understand where she's coming from or at least try to smooth things over. Our parents are the only ones that have our best interest at heart…and you don't know what'll happen if Rita and Zedd get a hold of them again."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. "I guess you're right." She hopped off of the stool and went over to the blue ranger, giving him a hug. "Thanks, Billy."

"I should be thanking you." Billy returned the hug. "You helped me think of some things that I haven't been able to do before. And in a very articulate manner, I should add."

"Yeah," Kimberly agreed. "How was I able to do that? Normally I can't even come close to Trini's talent of being able to understand you."

Billy shrugged. "Maybe for the same reason I was able to excel in my physical ability so quickly." At Kimberly's confused glance he smiled modestly. "I think that, when I had used my mind reading machine on the two of us and we switched bodies that we kept a little bit of each other's energy. It's a theory anyway."

"Better than anything I could come up with," Kimberly agreed. She backed away from him and gave him a little wave. "Bye Billy, I'll see you later." Billy waved back and she lifted her communicator and teleported back to her house. Once arriving, she hurried around, calling out her mother's name as she went.

Receiving no answer, she went to her mother's room and found it was empty and that her favorite purse was gone. She had to have gone out shopping; it was an activity the two of them shared when they wanted to feel better. Apart from it being a good workout, of course.

 _And now you're the one that made her go out to do it,_ Kimberly thought. She ran her hand through her hair, moving her lower jaw to the side. Then her thoughts shifted and she glanced at her watch. "Speaking of a good workout…"

Going to her room, the pink ranger changed into some running gear and took her house key before leaving the house and trotting down the street. She had been running for almost twenty minutes before she realized that Billy had never answered her question.

Shaking her head, Kimberly smiled.

* * *

 

"Yes, I knew I would find their weakness at some point," Rita grinned, turning away from her Ritascope. The malicious smile on her face rivaled even that of Zedd's. The plan formulating in her head was what was going to take the Power Rangers down to their knees.

And when they were on their knees, they would finally be defeated. What would be better? An axe to the neck? A barrage of gun fire execution style? The possibilities were endless and the ideas that she could have to finally cause them pain and suffering made her happier than her wedding day. So much happier, especially knowing that when she told Zedd her plan, he wouldn't question her abilities every again.

They'd finally be able to take over the universe, starting with Earth, Eltar, and Edenoi.

Zordon would finally be defeated and he wouldn't have a choice but to become her slave before she killed him as well.

"Goldar! Scorpina! Get over here!" Rita's voice echoed over the balcony as she walked back into the lair. The two golden monsters scurried over to their mistress. "I need your help! Even though you bumbling morons killed off one of my monsters for you own gain, your services are needed." She picked up her Magic Wand and pointed it towards the two monsters, who shifted uncomfortably. "If you think you can backstab me and Zedd like that again, we won't be as forgiving."

Goldar gulped loudly while Scorpina merely looked down at her feet, upper lip curling to show off her fangs. It had been the best plan, get rid of Sagittaria, show Rita and Zedd that she and Goldar meant business and they could be the ones to take down the rangers hard enough for their ultimate destruction. Then the rest of the horoscope monsters would be destroyed and Goldar and Scorpina would become their last resort. Scorpina had never had a blow placed upon her before then, all they needed was to work harder on their fighting and they were the best thing for Rita and Zedd.

The plan had, in a way, backfired. After killing Sagittaria, Goldar and Scorpina had gone back to the Lunar Palace and were reamed by Rita and Zedd. Tortured for having backstabbed their Master and Mistress, Rita and Zedd has used their magic and powers of darkness from their Magic Wand and Z-Staff to inflict torture and pain upon them as long as they could handle it. Then Goldar had his wings taken, Scorpina was locked away, and the two were only taken out once Rita and Zedd had been put on their thousand-year sleep. Now that she and her husband were awake, they needed to get started on the rangers one more.

"Yes, my Mistress," Goldar growled. "We'll do anything for you."

"Let us know what it is you need and we'll do our best," Scorpina added. Though her statement came out more like a growl, as if she couldn't believe she was allowing herself to completely stay under Rita's will, she kneeled on the floor to prove her worth. "Please, ask us what it is you want us to do and we'll do it."

"I need you to find someone for me," Rita whispered. Her grip tightened on her staff, fingernails clacking against the metal. "The rangers…they need to know they're not invincible and I know the way to do it. Their parents are what keep them going. When we held them captive the first time, those power brats quickly gave up their Power Coins to get them back. Their parents are their weakness and we're going to get rid of them again. Permanently."

Scorpina slowly lifted her head, looking up at Rita, waiting for her orders. Her cheek twitched as she watched the space witch pace back and forth. How much venom would it take to take her down as well? She didn't follow Rita; she followed Zedd, the _real_ person that had her loyalty. Zedd was the bringer of darkness, doom and gloom, and destruction. Rita was his bumbling minion that had screwed up enough times that Zedd had to come back from ruling another galaxy to try and make things right.

"But, I don't need just anybody," Rita continued. "I need someone that has experience with life forces and depleting them. I know just the person and he's done it many times before. That's his power, his demonic power that I need on my side to be sure that things go well." She turned back towards the golden monsters. "I know you know who I'm talking about. Bring him here. Summon him for me."

"Yes, my mistress," Goldar and Scorpina replied.

Coming up from their kneeling position, the two walked out of the open area of the Lunar Palace and disappeared from sight. Rita went over to the throne and smoothed her skirts underneath her as she sat down in the cold throne. The cold seeped through her body, giving her chills in the way she liked. Zedd was in his room sleeping or with the concubines or something. She didn't care, just so long as he wasn't questioning her every move.

 _You have some interest in the male slaves once and you're branded for life,_ Rita thought. _Not that it's stopped him from spending so much time with his own slaves. Wanting to relax, my ass._ As she continued to hold onto her wand, the red gem inside glowed brightly, much like the way Zedd did when he was angry.

The red glow continued to glow brighter and brighter before it turned into a golden color and a skeletal, demon like monster appeared in front of her. He floated in front of her for a few seconds before gently landing on the ground, shifting his axe like sword towards her in greeting. "Rita," he greeted her, voice low and menacing."

"Diabolico," Rita returned with a bright smile. "Just the person I was hoping to see. Glad to know that Goldar and Scorpina are good for _something_." She walked towards him. "I have a proposition for you. If you want to take the time to listen. But you're the best for the job, so I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."

"You have my undivided attention," Diabolico replied. "Though my services do come at a price."

"Yes, yes, I wouldn't expect anything else." Rita cleared her throat. "I need your help with the Power Rangers. I need to hit them where it hurts and you're the best for the job. I need your demonic powers to inflict the worst kind of pain upon them. Against the parents."

"I'm listening."

"Your demonic powers deal with a person's life force, if you can take that to inflict the worst kind of pain on the rangers, you'll be held in the highest regard with the villainous creatures of the galaxy," Rita said. "Your name will instill fear in those all of the universe and you'll be able to take control of anyone that comes your way."

Diabolico slowly grinned at Rita. "It'll be my pleasure."


	41. Happy Birthday, Avalon

**Chapter 41**

_Happy Birthday, Avalon_

* * *

 

The early morning of what was supposed to be a day of celebration was interrupted by the melodic beeps that alerted the rangers to the Command Center. In various states of dress—Rocky crossing his arms over his bare chest—they turned to face Zordon and Alpha to hear what it was that needed to be said to them.

"Rangers, there's a monster attacking the marina. It appears that Rita and Zedd have sent out their next horoscope monster. The cancer representative, Cancess. It is a crab like monster that has industrialized claws, able to break through anything that comes its way," Zordon explained.

Alpha, gently waving his hands, turned towards the rangers as well. "Be careful, it may have the ability to break through your power weapons."

"Why would Rita and Zedd send out a monster this early in the morning?" Aisha asked, stifling a yawn. She adjusted the ponytail around her unkempt hair. "We've never deal with them so early or so late before."

"We never dealt with them in school either," Rocky pointed out to her. "But that didn't stop the two of them for sending out the artillery." He blanched and glanced over at Adam, who didn't appear to react to his words otherwise. Speaking a stage-whisper, he leaned over to Avalon. "D'you think he heard me?"

"I think everyone past Pluto heard you, mate," Avalon replied. "You really need to work on your inside voice." She patted him on the shoulder.

Tommy turned to the viewing globe and watched as Cancess scuttled back and forth across the sand, kicking up large windfalls as he went. Those that were on the beach for an early morning surf were the perfect target for his attacks. Not only did he send large blasts of sand into the water that knocked the surfers off their boards and into the water, but as soon as they were knocked in, Cancess scuttled into the water cornered them off. With a frustrated sigh, he turned back to the rangers and nodded. "We can do this, right guys?"

"Right!" Came the unanimous reply.

"It's Morphin' Time! Tiger zord!"

"Ankylosaurus!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Triceratops!"

"Saber-tooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers morphed and teleported down to the beach. They were immediately blasted with a wave of sand, knocking them back on the ground. "Geez, I like making sandcastles but having one made of me is ridiculous!" Bailey complained as she climbed out of a sand pile. Pulling off her boot, she dumped sand back onto the ground.

"I thought I'd face you rangers at some point," Cancess cried, scuttling his legs as he turned to face them. "Rita and Zedd said you would be formidable foes! Now that Sagittaria has been defeated, it's my turn to see that you finally get destroyed!" With that, he sent a wave of sand over to the rangers, knocking them off their feet once more then followed up by rushing at them.

"Power Sword!" Rocky summoned his weapon and swung it towards Cancess. The crab monster quickly moved to the side before moving forward at lightning speed and stuck him in the stomach, sending him flying.

"Rocky!" Kimberly called, watching as he skidded across the sand.

"Whoa, this guy moves really fast," Tommy declared, holding tightly onto Saba. He held out his arms, making himself a bigger target, slowly backing away. "Don't forget what Alpha and Zordon said, he might have the power to break through our weapons.

"What're we going to do then?" Kimberly asked. Before anyone could respond, Cancess turned and started to head their way and she quickly dove to the side. "Power Bow!" Turning her weapon to the sky, she let out a barrage of arrows. The energy bullets shot through the air and arched down towards the monster. Using even more of its incredible speed, Cancess shuttled back and forth, dodging the energy bullets that shot his way.

"Power Daggers!" Aisha summoned her weapons and darted towards the monster. As it moved to the left, missing the attacks from the right side, she leapt on top of the monster. Lifting her right hand above her head, she quickly stabbed down with the Power Dagger, directly onto its head."

Billy leapt high into the air. "Power Lance!" He spun his weapon around his hand then slashed it down on top of Cancess as well. The lighting that was produced from the weapon shot through Cancess, causing it to screech in pain.

Adam hurried over next. "Power Axe!" As he continued to sprint towards Cancess, he brought his arms above his head, swinging his Power Axe back as he did so.

"Not so fast!" Cancess turned so quickly that it knocked Aisha and Billy off of his back and onto the sand. He then shot towards Adam and lifted himself off the beach and on top of the black ranger before anyone could stop him. Adam's cry of pain was drowned out by Cancess's thundering body dropping down onto the sand.

"Adam! No!" Bailey cried.

"There has to be some sort of weakness on this thing," Avalon remarked. "Every one that we've faced so far had one." She summoned her Stegorang and held it in front of her like a shield. "Even Sagittaria had a weakness and that was two swords in the back."

"First thing we have to do is get Adam out from under there," Kimberly pointed out. "We have to distract it!"

"How do you propose we do that then?" Bailey brought out her Ankylo Charger and sent off a barrage of missiles over to the monster and it crash landed on its back. When the smoke cleared, her eyes widened behind her helmet when she saw that it had been unharmed. "How is that possible?"

Up on the Lunar Palace, Rita smiled with glee as she turned away from the monster fight, leaning back on her throne. This plan was falling into place better than she ever thought it would. Sending out the next horoscope monster to distract the rangers while she got a good look at their parents. This was all too easy; all she needed to do at this point was figure out the best way to lure the parents out and use them to get the rangers to admit defeat.

"Why don't you let me go down and start my part of the plan?" Diabolico suggested, hovering beside Rita. "That's what you called me for, right?"

"Yes, yes, I called you here to help me," Rita responded airily. She waved a hand. "I need to see Zedd first, so I can rub into his face the plan I have!" She stood up and stamped her magic wand against the floor. "Goldar! Bring Cancess back here now, the rangers have had enough! They need things to get shaken up a bit, their confidence broken before I can finally tear them apart."

"Yes, my mistress," Goldar said in resignation. He disappeared in a rush of flames and the space witch turned to Scorpina, who had been dutifully standing by his side, waiting for her orders, barking, "Scorpina, go find Zedd! Make yourself useful for once. My bumbling husband is spending way too much time with his conquests; he seems to have forgotten what it was that he wanted when he came here!"

Scorpina bowed and turned off, heading towards the doors at the back of the Lunar Palace. They slowly slid open and she slipped through them, disappearing around the corner. Rita twirled her wand in front of her with glee. It was only a matter of time now.

"What is it?" Zedd demanded as he and Scorpina came back into the lair a few moments later. He was pulsating bright red, showing his irritation. "I was busy if you didn't notice." He motioned to his front and Rita barely glanced over the area he was motioning to before grabbing his arm and turning him towards the Earth.

"What would you do if I told you that I had a sure fire way of defeating the ranger this time?" Rita asked him. She continued before Zedd could put her down in his answer. "They'll be shot into pieces of ranger dust and scattered all over the world!" She threw her hands into the air and turned to Diabolico. "He's going to help make sure it happens."

Diabolico nodded as Zedd cast a brief glance over the demon monster.

"And what, may I ask, if your ridiculous plan this time?" Zedd pressed.

"The rangers don't have a lot of weaknesses," Rita explained. "With the power they've gotten from Zordon and Alpha that's protecting them, they always seem to come out on top. However, there is always a weakness for everyone and I've figured out what it is. Their parents are the key to destroying them. They would do anything for their parents, even having given up their Power Coins the first time around." She motioned to Diabolico. "We're going to use this guy's powers to make sure that we can trick the rangers into thinking that we have their parents, lure them to a nondisclosed location and destroy them after we force them to give over their Power Coins and zapping them with our full power."

"Sounds like an interesting plan, my dear," Zedd's voice rumbled from deep in his chest. He brought up a hand and ran his fingers down her cheek, causing her to shiver. "If this all works out, our reign over Edenoi and Eltar will come sooner than before and then we can take over the universe!" He leaned in towards his wife. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you look when you're planning and scheming ways to destroy life as we know it?"

"Not yet," Rita replied. She giggled, turning her head away. "But you can remind me when the rangers are in our grasp." She turned towards her husband and gave him a long kiss. "It's all for you, Zeddy! It's all for you!" Rita and Zedd turned around as Goldar and Cancess appeared behind them. "Well?!"

"Those power punks aren't going to be around much longer," Cancess declared. "Not when your plan is going as smoothly as one could expect." He extended a claw and a few strands of hair were nestled inside. "It was hard to get the hair that you wanted, but I finally managed to get close enough to one to do so."

Scowling, Rita stormed over to Cancess and snatched the hairs from his hand. "One?!" She shrieked. "You think that we're going to be able to get by with the hair of only _one_ ranger?" She picked up her wand and pointed it towards the crustacean. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast you right now?"

"You made it so that my shell is nearly indestructible," Cancess reminded her. "The razor sharp edges are used to slash the rangers whenever they get too close and the shell is made so that it's harder for the rangers to break through."

Zedd growled as he walked by Cancess, looking down on Earth himself. "The next time we make a monster, we need to be sure they have the killing spirit. This one appears to be broken." He turned around and glanced at Goldar and Scorpina for a moment before lifting his Z-staff and pointing it towards them. "And I've needed to work on my target practice." The two golden monsters, though they visually held still, cowered under their Master's staff as it pulsed with energy.

He had the means of the most vicious, horrifying, destructive forms of torture, death, and destruction and having to face it in the end of the Zedd's staff was enough for Goldar to wish he had done a better job when it came to using the Azurite Healiodore.

Zedd turned to the side and shot a blast of energy over to Cancess, who immediately exploded in a bust of flame. Calmly, the Emperor of Evil turned to his wife and made a grand sweep of his arm. Rita smiled, showing her teeth and gently placed the strands of hair onto the floor. Picking up her wand, she took a step back and shot some of her magic at it. As the villains watched, the light continued to swirl around the hairs until the light started to make form the shape of a human.

As the seconds passed, the light faded and the shape of the human continued to fill out until Tommy stood in front of them, decked out in green, eyes flashing red.

"Perfect," Rita purred, reaching out and running her fingers up Tommy's arm. "Just the one I was hoping for." She glared at the scorched spot on the floor that previously held Cancess, upper lip curling. "At least it did something right before getting what it deserved." She cleared her throat before turning to Tommy, who dutifully stood in the center around them.

"You, green ranger, are to follow my commands!" Rita declared. "When the time is right, you are to go down and distract the power rangers! You will defeat them and bring their heads back to me!" She cackled.

Zedd shook his head. "No," he purred in mirth. "Bring them back to us alive and we'll deal with the rest. We need you to capture them first."

"You'll be part of the plan along with Diabolico," Rita agreed. "Right now, I want to be sure that his powers can be used they way I'd want them to be used." She waved a hand. "Go now, do what you need to do! It'll give me time to make sure the rest of our plan goes well."

Diabolico nodded and disappeared in a haze

* * *

 

"I'm just saying it's really weird that the Cancer monster disappeared like that," Bailey said as she followed Avalon down the sidewalk. She rubbed the side of her neck where a fresh bruise had appeared. "Especially considering he was able to fight us off so easily. I don't think it was a good thing."

"Yeah, well, we have more important things to think about, Bay," Avalon said to her. "Mostly having to do with figuring out what the power of the Healiodore is and why Rita and Zedd haven't tried to get it back yet." Reaching out an arm—she visibly winced in pain—blocking her sister from walking off the edge of the sidewalk and into traffic as a car turned the corner and headed up the road. "Others having to do with why we had been woken up so early to fend it off. Like Aisha pointed out, it's not like them to do it at that time of day; I can usually set my watch to it."

"Yeah, and to the amount of times you've needed to go to the police station," Bailey pointed out. She looked down at her own watch before glancing up at her sister once more. "What do they need you for this time?"

The orange ranger shrugged. "Dunno. Lt. Stone said he wanted to see me again. Considering the fact that he could easily put me in jail, I didn't want to question it."

Bailey made a humming sound and nodded in reply, glancing at her watch once more. She hoped Avalon didn't notice her movement or else her questions would ruin everything they had planned for that day. Rita's and Zedd's monster attack had thrown off the plan as soon as they had all woken up, but the time it took for them to fight Cancess and Goldar taking him back to the Lunar Palace had put them in a good enough standing for the others to get things ready before they returned to the house later that day.

Instead of giving Avalon a reason to suspect anything, the purple ranger gave her sister a teasing jab in the side. "I know, all those big guys with those big guns, must be really scary."

Avalon elbowed her back. "Please, that's nothing compared to the other shit that Chase had me do." Her amused expression changed to one of horror, then morphed to anger, then her face became stoic as it usually did when there was a topic of conversation she didn't want to go further into. Bailey had seen it enough when they were still in their apartment. Whenever she tried to ask what they were going to do for money and food, she would get that look and the subject was dropped.

Just like that.

Bailey cleared her throat and turned her attention to the police station as they arrived and she led the way through the front door. The purple ranger went over to the front desk, resting her arms on the countertop. "Is Lt. Stone here?"

"I'm beginning to think we're seeing too much of you, Miss. Mitchell," the secretary said, her eyes moving to the eldest Mitchell sister as she walked up behind the purple ranger. "Either you're going to become a police officer for all of the work you've been doing to help out Bulk and Skull with their training for the police academy." She gave a friendly smile. "Most people would try to stay _away_ from here."

"Yeah, well, a lot of people say I should stay out of trouble but I'd be bored if that were the case, yeah?" Avalon replied. Placing her hands on Bailey's shoulders, she pulled the purple ranger away from the desk and pushed her towards the back hallways where Lt. Stone's office was situated. The two girls walked over to his office and Avalon knocked on the doorframe as Bailey rushed inside.

"Hi Lt. Stone!" Bailey greeted him, stopping by his desk and placing her hands on top. Her eyes scanned the desktop, taking in the papers that were scattered around. Lt. Stone quickly covered up the papers and placed them into a desk drawer before turning to face the two Australian girls. "How ya going?"

"I'm going…just fine, I guess," Lt. Stone replied. He gave Bailey a funny look, trying to wrap his head around the slang hat she had just used, causing her to giggle. "How about you two? Anything interesting been going on?"

Avalon crossed her arms as she regarded him. "You tell us. You were the one that called me here." As Lt. Stone started to answer she uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "You know, if you ever wanted to find a way to keep me out of trouble, working alongside Angel Grove PD is fine, I'd just like to be notified first." She paused. "I have a job now, you know."

"I know that," Lt. Stone replied. He gave Bailey a look and she made a 'just go with it' gesture in response. "We just want to be sure that you continue to stay out of trouble. Not only for the fact that we're afraid the Vipers aren't totally gone, but because we don't know if the High Flyers are going to do anything now that they've taken over this part of the city. If not make sure that the Vipers are completely wiped out by taking care of you." He pressed his lips together grimly. "And I don't mean in a tuck you into bed, sort of way."

There was a brief moment of silence in the office. Bailey continued to look around doing her best not to look directly at her sister or at Lt. Stone. It had to be hard for the two of them; Lt. Stone continuously dealt with this case, if she wanted to refer to it as that, because it was his job, Avalon continued to deal with it because it was her life and Bailey didn't have to think about it much at all unless she was worrying when her sister stayed out all night. Otherwise Avalon had done a great job of shielding her from the dangers that were constantly following her around and Bailey was able to have a relatively normal life.

 _If by normal you mean being able to use these great powers to try and save a city that you weren't supposed to be in, then, yeah, things are pretty normal. _Bailey thought. She pushed the thought aside and addressed Lt. Stone. "If it were something that serious, you would've gotten into contact immediately, yeah? Over the phone."

"You're correct, Little Lady," Lt. Stone agreed. Reaching behind him, Lt. Stone grabbed an envelope off of the desk and handed it over to Avalon. "Once again I got a letter from Chase. I hope you've been listening to me when I suggest that you shouldn't open them." Bailey's eyes widened as she turned to her sister, who guiltily took the letter from him.

"You got a letter from Chase?" Bailey repeated. She raised a hand to her forehead. " _Letters?_ How come you didn't tell me?" She raised her hands up in a way that showed she was trying not to offend her sister then took a step back. "Excuse me. I'm glad that you at least told me about Dad's letter."

"The only reason I didn't mention it to you was because I didn't want you to worry," Avalon said calmly. She reached out and tapped her sister on the head with the letter. "And because I didn't want you to get scared about the possibility of him or the others coming back when we know they won't."

"We don't know that for sure," Lt. Stone reminded her.

Avalon waved him off, kneeling down towards her sister, placing her hands on her knees as she gazed into her eyes. "I know that for sure, don't be scared. Don't worry about it. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Sis. I promise." Bailey gave a tiny smile and nodded.

 _You always say that and then something else happens,_ Bailey thought. _Especially considering the danger we're constantly putting ourselves in while being rangers._ She shook her head. _You need to lighten up, Av. Hopefully the rest of today will make things better for you._ She reached out a hand and grabbed onto her sister's smiling up at her. She was starting to get as tall as her sister, nearing her five feet in height and would probably surpass her, much to her amusement and Avalon's annoyance.

And yet, she was always going to be the orange ranger's sister and, frankly, she didn't want anything else.

Avalon turned and pointed at Lt. Stone with the letter before tucking it down into the back pocket of her jean overalls shorts. "This is nothing that you have to worry about. I haven't opened any of them; I don't know what they say. He'll stop at some point."

"You don't really believe that do you?"

"If I know Chase as well as I think I do, he stops after he doesn't get the response he wants."

Lt. Stone nodded, braving a small smile, turning to Bailey. "Is she always like that?"

"Annoyingly so," Bailey agreed. She reached out and placed a hand to her chest. "I'm the one that's _not_ crazy." She smirked at her sister, who rolled her eyes and cuffed her on the back of the head. "Anyway, you actually sounded to be in a good mood when you called us over here. I'm sure that wasn't the last of it?"

"You're right," Lt. Stone agreed. "There's a Police Academy picnic going on today and I thought you'd like to come join us." He kept Bailey's gaze a while longer before addressing both girls. "And I'm sure you'd like some time to hang out and have a good time, right?" Hands on his hips, he leaned forward. "And between you and me, I think you're the only one that understands Bulk and Skull and at this point I'm tired or trying to deal with them."

Avalon and Bailey both laughed and the girls followed Lt. Stone out of his office and to the park that was next door to the police station. He led them to the tables that were filled with food and instructed them to fill the plates before he motioned them over to an empty table. The three sat down around it and Lt. Stone removed his hat, placing it on the table beside him before picking up his bottle of water and flicking off the cap.

Avalon picked up the sandwich on her plate and inspected it for a moment before taking a bite. She tilted her head and looked at Bailey, giving a small wink. Bailey smiled, noticing and recognizing the gesture.

"So, what's your story?" Bailey asked innocently. Lt. Stone's eyebrows rose, taking a long sip of water. "You married? Have any kids?"

Lt. Stone shook his head and both questions.

"Do you _want_ kids?" Avalon pressed. "How about a dog? You have a dog? Do you like pets?"

"What about cats?" Bailey broke in.

"Fish?"

"Birds?"

"Do you consider yourself a bachelor?"

"Do you date a lot?"

Lt. Stone's eyes widened before he brought up both of his hands. The girls collapsed into laughter and started in on their lunch. "Geez and I thought Bulkheimer and Skullovitch asked a lot of questions," he said. "You're just as bad as them."

"Oh, but I'm sure we're plenty more entertaining," Skull announced his arrival as he and Skull walked over. "And better at it." He clapped Lt. Stone on the back, causing him to shift forward in his seat, nearly knocking his forehead onto the bench.

Avalon let out a cry of surprise as Bulk wrapped his arms round her and lifted her up into his arms, rocking her back and forth. "And we owe it all to you. You were the one that believed n us and look where we are now."

"Yeah," Lt. Stone repeated grimly. "Look where we are now."

Bulk replaced Avalon the bench and he and Skull joined the three at the table. "You're welcome." Avalon smoothed her hair back down, picking up her food once more. "It wasn't anything special, really. I see the potential that you guys have…it's just…not a lot of people take you seriously."

"Have you seen them?" Lt. Stone pointed out. "We were running he cadets through the obstacle course and, somehow, they managed to run it backwards, get completely knotted up in the ropes course, and caused the entire lineup, as they were working on directional orders, to go falling face first into the mud."

"I'm sure that can happen to anybody," Bailey said with a light giggle. She looked over the shaved heads of the boys and nodded appreciatively. "I like your haircuts. I'm assuming it's something that everyone has to go through while they're here."

Lt. Stone nodded. "Apart from the women of course. It goes along with the uniform procedures and regulations." He continued to eat before motioning over to Avalon. "You know, you should think about going into the police academy."

"The secretary already suggested it and I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon," Avalon said flatly. "Especially considering the irony of the entire situation as it would be." She shook her head. "Definitely not. The last thing I want to do is follow in my father's footsteps."

Bailey gave a soft smile, her eyes lowering.

"Your father was in the police force?"

"Not exactly."

All of a sudden, a commotion sounded behind them and Avalon and Bailey whipped around to see putties trashing the picnic site. They picked up the ends of the tables and flipped them over as police officers scattered this way and that. If it were any sort of person that was threatening them with a gun or some other sort of weapon, they wouldn't have a problem. However, these were putties, monsters, and everyone in Angel Grove knew that when it came to being safe, you got away from putties as soon as they appeared.

The Power Rangers were the ones that had the power to handle them and they couldn't allow themselves to get into any sort of trouble when there was no one else around to do so. Bulk, Skull, and Lt. Stone let out cries of surprise and fear and started to scramble up from the table to run away.

"Where do these things keep coming from?" Skull cried.

"They must be following us or something," Bulk shouted back. "They're always around. The park, the basketball park, the school…" A putty neared him and without hesitation, he whipped out a police baton an surged forward, striking the putty directly in the chest. The putty broke apart, capturing the attention of the other putties that started to converge upon them.

Avalon quickly vaulted onto the table and spun around, kicking the flat portion of her boot into a putty's chest before back rolling and striking out with her elbow, hitting another one. Bailey pushed herself away from the table and sank into the familiar karate stance before doling out a barrage of high kicks and punches, calling out with her kiais as she went.

Avalon followed her lead and somersaulted across the ground, bringing her feet up, ankles pressed together, to strike a putty in the chest. As two putties grabbed onto her arms, she used the forward momentum to flip herself forward and slam the putties to the ground.

Bailey managed to defeat another putty before quickly spinning around, realizing that she, Avalon, Bulk, Skull, and Lt. Stone were completely surrounded.

All of a sudden there was a swirl of gold light and a demonic looking creature—Diabolico—appeared before them. "Well, well, doesn't _this_ look familiar," he said. "It hasn't been that long, not enough time for him to grow up yet. But you'll meet him soon."

"What the hell?" Avalon murmured, staring intently at Diabolico. She rolled back onto her feet, bringing her arm out to shield her sister once more.

Slightly shifting away from the putties, Bailey glanced at the orange ranger. "There's too many of them," she murmured. "We don't have a choice."

Avalon bobbed her head and gave a sarcastic laugh. "What's one more person that knows our secret?" She moved her hand behind her back, fingers twitching and glanced at Bailey once more, her eyes moving to the three men who cowered behind her.

Bailey nodded.

Avalon nodded.

"It's morphin' time!" The sisters declared in unison. They pulled out their morphers and thrust them out in front of them.

"Ankylosaurus!"

"Stegosaurus!"

The two morphed and made quick work of the putties that were around them, as they had started to panic and move erratically once the girls morphed. Avalon pulled out the blade blaster that was in its holster against her hip and shot each of the putties that came near her in the chest. It was quicker for her and having the experience of being in the Vipers made her an excellent shot, giving her a hit with nearly every blast.

Bailey concentrated on keeping her kicks and punches quick and precise; not staying in one place more than a few seconds, knowing the putties would be quick to gang up on her. They were slow, but not entirely stupid, doing the best they could as the foot soldiers for Rita and Zedd. If they weren't needed they would never be summoned by the witch and Emperor or Darkness. Bailey ducked as a putty tried to put her in a headlock and she sent the finishing blow to its chest with a strike of her elbow.

After finishing off the putties, the two rangers turned towards Diabolico, Avalon summoning her Power Staff and Bailey summoning her Ankylo Charger. Diabolico merely laughed, eyes glowing a bright red. "Not as wimpy as he was in the beginning. I'll give you that." He waved a hand and the putties disappeared. "No matter. Now that I know that my powers still work, even while being sealed away, I'll come back for you, later."

"Stop!" Avalon called and the two girls started running forward, but Diabolico disappeared once more. "Dammit!" She turned to Bailey, who appeared just as frustrated as she did, despite the helmet covering her face.

"Power down!" The two declared and demorphed before turning and hurrying over to Bulk, Skull, and Lt. Stone, who were still kneeling behind them. "Are you lot alright?" Bailey grabbed onto Skull's arm and helped him to his feet.

"Yeah…yeah…I'm fine," Lt. Stone replied, getting up from his knees. He turned to Avalon and gave her a nod, which she returned with a warm smile. "I knew you…I knew you were a ranger…I didn't think that… your sister was one too."

Bailey nodded, shoulders slumping with the weight, knowing her secret had just been revealed. "It's a long story," she said. "We're…uh…just glad you're alright." She expected Zordon and Alpha to teleport them to the Command Center and take away their powers at that exact moment but they stayed rooted to the ground.

Lt. Stone held her hand out towards Avalon. "Thank you," she said to her; firmly, seriously.

Hesitating a moment, Avalon reached out and placed her hand in his, shaking it firmly. "You're welcome," she said. "I'd do it anyway…to say thank you…to all three of you…for what you've done for me and Bay so far."

Bulk and Skull smiled and nodded, still appearing shocked at what they had just witnessed. Still, Bailey could tell by looking at them, that they had a newfound respect for their job and they were going to do amazing with it.

She just hoped she wasn't going to lose her powers over it.

* * *

 

"How many more balloons do I have to blow up?" Rocky asked. Trying to catch his breath, he leaned back and tied a knot into the latex of a balloon and handed it over to Adam, who was collecting a giant bouquet to release to the ceiling.

"I don't know." Fred shrugged, finishing up his balloon. "Kim says to make sure that we do as many as we can." He took a deep breath, eyes widening slightly. "I don't think I have the lung capacity for that." He pursed his lips, bringing another balloon up to his mouth and starting to feebly blow into it.

"Ask Kim and 'Sha," Adam replied. "They're the ones that are organizing this surprise birthday party." He nodded over to the pink and yellow rangers who were standing with Billy's mother at the kitchen table, putting on the finishing touches of the birthday cake. "Besides, I'd rather be doing this than setting up the streamers; I don't think I've seen anyone be so meticulous over them before."

"I heard that, Adam," Aisha called over to him. "Don't make me come over there and kick your booty, boy."

Adam held up his hands defensively and knocked Rocky's arm, motioning for him to blow up another balloon. Rocky sighed heavily and picked up a pink balloon. He stretched the end of it and blew a breath of air inside. Grinning, he pulled the ends of the balloon and allowed the air to escape and burst out laughing at the sound it created. "Dude, it sounds exactly like a fart!"

"Awesome!" Fred declared, eyes lighting up.

"The harder you pull, the higher pitched it sounds," Adam egged him on. Rocky blew another breath into the balloon and did the same movement as before and it made a higher pitched farting sound, causing the red and black rangers to laugh along with Fred and high-five each other.

"Boys," Kimberly and Aisha muttered at the same time. They continued to focus on piping the finishing border around the edge of the cake.

Tommy and Billy, who finished putting up the streamers and backed away to check their work, smirked at each other. Billy turned to his father. "I think that's the last of everything, Dad. All we have to do is wait for them to get back here."

"Do you think Bailey can keep her out long enough?" David asked, slowly climbing down from a step stool. "I mean, the girl is as restless as your mother was when we were younger. Never able to keep still for more than a few minutes at a time. And nosey as hell."

"I heard that," Lacey called from the other side of the room. "And it's that nosiness that gave me my PHD, thank you very much."

"Yeah, and you passed it on down to Billy, too," Tommy agreed. "I don't think I've seen anyone that can do as much as this guy does." Billy gave a modest smile and Tommy took the time to survey the room. Streamers hung from all corners of the room, even around the lamps, carefully placed so they wouldn't set the curtains ablaze. Balloons were littered around all sides of the room, not including those that were in Adam's and Rocky's hands. The chocolate cake sat on the table along with the bowls of chip, dip, and a couple of pans of pizza and bottles of soda with brightly wrapped boxes placed along the underside of it.

They were definitely ready for a birthday party.

Turning to the other corner of the room, Tommy spotted his parents sitting on the couch, tightly holding hands. Kimberly's mother was invited to the party, though he wasn't surprised to see that she hadn't shown, especially not after the fight she had with her daughter. And Rocky's, Adam's, and Aisha's parents didn't know Avalon or Bailey well enough to go to the party. With a sensitive smile, Tommy walked over to his parents and rested a hand on his mother's shoulder as he stood above them.

"Guys, it's going to be OK," he said to them. "Things are going to go great."

"That's really sweet Tommy," Mrs. Oliver said to her son. She reached up and placed her hand on top of his. "But we don't know how things are going to turn out if they agree to it. There's so many things to go through, papers to fill out, forms to sign…getting accreditation for the house, social workers coming to see if things are fit…" She turned away.

"It's just a lot of things to think about in the coming months," Mr. Oliver agreed.

"I know," Tommy agreed. "But it'll all work out."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"Because it all worked out with me, didn't it?" He smiled at his parents and turned back to survey the room once more. Kimberly bounced over to him, having finished up with the cake. "The place looks great, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, she's definitely going to love it," Kimberly agreed. She let out a squeal of surprise at the sound of something outside. Billy noticed Kimberly's distress and followed her gaze, heading to the front of the house and peering out the window by the front door.

"They're coming." Billy quickly flipped off the lights by the front door and went back to the living room to hide along with the others. He, Tommy, and Kimberly all ducked behind the couch waiting as the voices at the front door got louder and louder.

The door opened and Bailey could be heard saying, "I'm just saying that there are a lot of other bands out there that are as good as Nirvana. Like Pearl Jam."

"And I'm just saying you're wrong, Bay," Avalon replied. "There aren't many things you're wrong about, but you're wrong about this." Their footsteps sounded from the front of the house to the living room where the lights were suddenly flipped on and the friends popped out of their hiding places with a cry of, "surprise!"

Bulk and Skull yelled the loudest out of everyone in the room, in response to the celebratory cry, causing the room to erupt in laughter. Avalon, who jumped at the sudden sound, removed her hand from her pocket, relaxing. "Geez, you lot nearly gave me a heart attack! For fuck's sake, stop _doing_ that!"

She then blinked in recognition at the words as the ranger all came over to give her a hug. "Birthday?" She repeated. "It's not my birthday."

"Uh, yes it is," Bailey insisted.

"But—"

"March 24th," Billy interrupted. "That's today. Today's your birthday." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders in a hug and Avalon hugged him back, her cheek pressed against his chest, though she still looked troubled.

"March twenty—"she started to repeat then whipped her phone out of her pocket, looking at the date. "Oh, bollocks! I forgot!"

"I can't believe you forgot your own birthday," Kimberly laughed before giving her friend a tight hug, rocking her back and forth.

"I've been distracted." Avalon finally smiled as she hugged Aisha, Rocky, and Adam as well. "Wow." She brushed her hair back out of her face as she looked around the room. "Wow," she repeated. "This is all so…bonzer! Thanks, guys!"

"We have cake, pizza, chips, soda…everything you could possible want for your birthday," Fred said. He threw out his arms as wide as the smile on his face. "And blew up as many balloons as we could."

"I can see that," Avalon laughed lightly, noticing Rocky and Adam hiding flat balloons behind their backs. Her face softened, noticing the stack of boxes by the kitchen table. "A-are those for me, too?"

"Of course!" Aisha gripped her shoulders. "What's a birthday without birthday presents?"

"The last three that we've had," Bailey piped up. The comment sobered the room a little bit, but then Lacey walked out from behind the table that held the cake and placed her hands on Avalon's cheeks.

"But we're all here to celebrate it now, with you." She smiled down at her son's best friend and gave her a hug before stepping back and allowing David to do the same. "So, what do you want first? Cake? Presents?"

"Ooh! Cake!" Bulk wiggled his fingers and headed towards the desert but received a slap to the arm form the pink ranger as he got close. Skull laughed loudly, his trademark laugh, as Bulk backed away, rubbing at the sore spot on his arm, pouting.

Lt. Stone rolled his eyes.

"I reckon I don't know where to start," Avalon admitted after a second, laughing lightly.

Mr. Oliver cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. He gripped his wife's hand and walked over to the orange and purple rangers, who waited patiently—albeit in confusion—to hear what they had to say. "If you don't mind," he started out politely. "My wife and I would like to make an announcement." He cleared his throat once more and Mrs. Oliver leaned into his side, giving a shaky smile.

Avalon's brows bunched together as she waited.

"We know that with everything that's been going on with you two over the past couple of years that what you really need is a good, stable home. We also know that your mother has recently gotten back into your lives, but there are some…complications,"—he had the grace to blush a little—"with your custody and while you are thriving well with the Cranstons who have been gracious enough to take you in, we think you'd like to have a more permanent solution."

"A more permanent solution?" Bailey repeated. She appeared just as worried as Avalon did.

"Yes." Now Mrs. Oliver spoke up. "My husband and I…and Tommy,"—she nodded over to the white ranger—"we all talked it through, and if you'd allow us to, we'd like to adopt you two into our family."

Bailey's eyes flew wide open.

Avalon sucked in a breath but didn't release it.

She held it.

And held it.

And held it.

Finally, the orange ranger let out her breath and whispered, "you want to adopt us?"

"Only if you want to be," Mr. Oliver said quickly. "That decision is entirely up to you, which is why we brought it up, haven't having had decided everything yet. But…Tommy has agreed he'd like some sisters and we've always wanted to have a daughter."

"Which we'd be getting either way, she'd just come along with another sister."

Tommy watched Avalon's expression slide through a bunch of reactions and emotions before she, finally, gently shook her head while laughing. "I'd like that," Avalon finally said.

"Whoo!" Bailey cheered, throwing her hands into the air before wrapping her arms around Tommy in a hug. "I'm getting a new big brother! I always wanted one!" She then heard Avalon's groan and she and Tommy looked at her.

The white ranger gave her a funny look. "I'm not the most perfect person on the planet but I don't think I'll be a terrible brother." This was met with laughter from the room.

Avalon reassured him with a smile. "Oh, it's not that. It's just…if you're going to be my brother that means I have to spend more time with her." She jerked her thumb over towards Kimberly, who responded by picking up her piece of cake and smashing it into the side of the orange ranger's face.

Cries of shock and surprise registered throughout the room before the parents started laughing. As Kimberly smugly licked frosting off her fingers-before her eyes widened and she grabbed a napkin, wiping the rest off-Avalon slowly brought a hand up to the side of her face and pulled the cake off.

"I deserve that," she admitted. She brought her thumb into her mouth and licked off the cake. "Mm! Chocolate!"

"Yes! We can finally eat!" Rocky declared, picking up a plate and moving over towards Lacey. "I'd like to have a big piece, Mrs. Cranston. The bigger the better!" He thrust out his plate and made a noise of disappointment when Avalon hip-checked him out of the way.

"Not until I get my piece and I want my name, please," the Australian girl said with a bright smile, holding out her own plate. And with that, the friends all lined up to get pieces of cake and celebrate the birthday of another ranger.

They deserved that much.


	42. Things Revealed

**Chapter 42**

_Things Revealed_

* * *

 

"And then you're going to mirror what the other person is doing, and this teaches you how to act and react to someone else's actions when you're on stage," The drama teacher, Mrs. Hillbrecht explained. She smiled around at the group, doing a quick headcount. "Alright, we have enough people to split into groups of two. So pair up and get started."

As Rocky started to get up, smiling towards a pretty blonde haired girl that had been smiling at him for the past ten minutes of class, but Aisha reached out and grabbed the red ranger's arm, pulling him to her side. "Whoa!" Stumbling, Rocky nearly fell back on top of his best friend. "Geez, 'Sha, warn a guy next time. I almost turned you into an Aisha pancake." His stomach growled and he placed his hands on the red colored fabric that covered his stomach. "Speaking of which, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," Aisha laughed. She tightened her grip on his arm. "But, please be my partner." She looked over her shoulder towards Sabrina, who stood awkwardly at the side of the group. "I don't…I feel bad for Sabrina. I'm just scared of what's gonna happen. Like…is it hard for her to keep control of both of her sides or what?" She started the exercise, placing her hands up and maneuvering them in the 'wax on, wax off' position, Rocky dutifully following her. "I mean, I feel bad that she's stuck, going into being Scorpina, but still…"

Rocky nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean." He gave the yellow ranger his funny, lopsided smile. "Like, are we going to get vapored the moment we turn our backs?"

"That's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny, I'm proving my point. But the thing is that…when we were in Australia she showed us that she's really scared about what's going on. And…Adam's kinda put off from the whole thing…she must feel really alone."

Aisha's eyebrows furrowed together as she followed Rocky's lead and the two started to alternatively lean back and forth as they continued with the 'Karate Kid' movements. "Do you…do you think we should bring her into the group then?"

The red ranger shrugged, halting their movements for a second. "Well, I feel sorry for Sabrina, and the thing is that if Rita and Zedd have _Scorpina_ here so that she could spy on us. What if we use her to see if there's anything we can figure out about their plans through her?"

Eyes bugging out of her head, the yellow ranger looked at Rocky in confusion. "You want to _use_ her? Well, it's no wonder you don't have a girlfriend, Rocky! You can't use girls and think it's OK!"

"I don't have a girlfriend because _you_ always scare them off, 'Sha," Rocky replied. He gave her a teasing smile, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not that I'm saying that's a bad thing," he added quickly.

"Good save."

"It helps a lot, actually. And if my girlfriend can't get along with my best friend then I wouldn't want to date her anyway because you're more important."

Aisha smiled, ducking her head for a moment.

"I don't see any reflection from you two," Mrs. Hillbrecht said as she walked by the red and yellow rangers. "C'mon, this is what needs to be done to be sure that your reaction times are better." She shook their shoulders to loosen then up a bit then stepped back.

"As you wish, ma'am," Rocky replied. He gave an exaggerated bow before grabbing Aisha's right hand in his left, placed his right hand on her lower back and the two started to spin in an exaggeratedly large circle as if they were ballroom dancing.

Aisha laughed and allowed herself to be spun around.

Mrs. Hillbrecht shook her head, laughing as she walked away.

During their many rotations, Aisha couldn't help but spot Sabrina still standing at the side of the theatre, with no partners. Monster or no monster, she felt bad that the girl didn't have anyone to hang out with. She was still a human girl and…human girls deserved to have friends. Taking the lead, Aisha spun herself and Rocky over towards Sabrina, who looked at the two rangers in confusion.

"C'mon, Sabrina, you don't have a partner and I need someone to save me from Rocky's big, left feet," Aisha said, disengaging herself from the red ranger.

"Speak for yourself, 'Sha," Rocky shot back.

Sabrina gave a gentle smile, eyes lighting up a bit. But then apprehension filled her face and she looked away from the rangers, chewing her lower lip. "You don't have to do this," she said. "I know…things are weird between us because of the whole…monster thing. But it's not something I can help. Scorpina isn't me…she's just a part of me, a part I want to get rid of. But she's there…I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to—"

"—we don't have to do anything," Rocky reassured her. "We want to. And we don't want you to miss out on having friends." Aisha smiled and nodded beside her best friend. The red ranger was always able to make friends with everyone that crossed his path and it was something she really admired about him.

This time, it kind of annoyed her, though. She had never seen him so persistent about it. _But he did say it'd be a good way to try and figure out what's going on with Rita's and Zedd's plans. It may help us out._ Instead of voicing her concerns, Aisha gave her a warm, inviting smile. "In fact, why don't you have lunch with us today? If Rocky doesn't eat everything, the food here is actually pretty good."

Sabrina tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, girl. " Aisha grabbed onto the girl's wrist and pulled her from the wall, further into the theatre. "Let's show this guy what it's like to do something right for a change." Rocky made a sound of annoyance and Sabrina laughed, following Aisha into a free space and the two started to mimic each other's movements as the class went on.

Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of class and Rocky practically sprinted from the theatre so he could get in line first. Aisha, rolling her eyes at his antics, followed him with Sabrina trailing slowly along behind them.

The three went through the cafeteria line and brought their food over to the table their friends were already stationed at. Aisha laughed a little when she spotted Avalon and Billy sitting across from each other with a chess board between them. Billy looked calm and collected while Avalon had a knee brought up and was chewing on a fingernail; eyebrows pushed together so hard that a line creased through her forehead.

"Are you having a staring contest or something?" Rocky asked taking the free spot beside Kimberly as Aisha and Sabrina sat down at the end of the table. Adam shifted his seat over so that Sabrina could sit down beside him, and gave her a quick smile, but didn't say anything otherwise.

"No," Avalon said slowly. She dropped her hand from her mouth and leaned forward, dark eyes skimming the board. "I've been stuck in check for the past five minutes and I'm trying to think of every way that I can get out of it without putting another piece in checkmate."

"I didn't know that you liked to play chess," Rocky said to the orange ranger.

"She's actually quite good at it," Billy said, removing his interlocked hands from underneath his chin. "Just not good enough." He gave a wry smile causing Avalon to toss a balled up napkin at him.

"Speaking of 'good enough', you guys should've seen the sculpture that Violet is working on in art class," Kimberly said and exchanged a glance with Tommy, both starting to chuckle. Billy rolled his eyes, looking away from her. "It's amazing! She's only got the bottom part done, it's supposed to be someone…"

"We're pretty sure it's going to be Billy," Adam spoke up with a half smile. Rocky's and Aisha's eyebrows jerked up in surprise and Sabrina smiled a little. "She stared at him all class long, but he doesn't seem to notice it." His smile widened. "She has a crush on you."

Billy made a humming sound, watching as Avalon let out a laugh of triumph and shifted a pawn. "Check, mate!" She declared, turning the tables on the blue ranger. Smiling happily to herself, she slid her tray over and started to eat the French fries on her plate. "And you can take that however you want."

"I think he should go for it," Kimberly pressed, not letting up on the subject. "I mean she's nice, pretty, smart…she's obviously interested in you." Leaning forward, she smiled at her blue-clad friend. "You should ask her to a movie or something."

Billy's face screwed up as he continued to study the chess piece in front of him. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I wouldn't really know what to say."

"Who _ever_ knows what to say?" Aisha spoke up. "Everyone gets nervous all the time. But as long as you're being yourself things should be fine." Pointing at Rocky with her fork, she continued. "I mean, I've seen him crash and burn when it comes to asking girls out all the time, but they give him a chance anyway."

"That's because no one can resist my charm," Rocky replied, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Aisha's right," Sabrina said quietly, getting everyone's attention. Otherwise she had been sitting at the table, just listening to the conversation as it went by. "You should just ask her out, she sounds nice."

"Unless you're still worried about Trini," Avalon abruptly pointed out. She held up a hand, not even bothering to look up to notice all of the incredulous stares that came her way. "Realistically speaking. I mean…you two did go together for a while." She lifted her gaze from the Chess board. "Maybe you should have a chin wag with her before you decide."

"No, we talked about it…and we both know that because she's gone so long and because of the whole…arranged marriage thing…it'll be hard. We're free to see other people."

"Whoa!" Now the red ranger held up his hands. "She has an arraigned marriage?"

"It's pretty common in the Vietnamese culture," Adam spoke up. "The parents want what's best for their children so they find the daughters someone that's suitable to marry. It not only brings in union for both families, but it has some other positives to it as well." He shrugged. "It's not something that Koreans particularly follow, but my mother and father have talked about it every now and then."

"You were going to be put into an arranged marriage?" Sabrina asked him, eyes lighting up as he finally addressed her.

"They weren't going to put me _in_ one. Just that they wanted me to be aware that it was something that happened. But they've been westernized so they follow the idea that you can choose whomever you want to marry." He looked shyly at his feet. "I'm glad they decided to go that way."

Sabrina smiled back. "Me too."

Aisha smiled as she watched the black ranger and Sabrina converse with each other. No matter whether or not the girl turned into a monster, it was obvious that he way she and Adam felt about each other was real. _Now if only he would get the nerve to ask her out._ She picked up her fork, starting to poke at her food, her appetite suddenly gone. _I know the feeling._

The rangers and Sabrina continued to have lunch, laughing and talking with each other, the conversations switching as quickly as lightning though they were able to keep up with it. Aisha found that, while talking to Sabrina, the girl wasn't as different from any other girl as she originally thought. She liked to dress up and liked makeup and reading, liked to go shopping though malls weren't her favorite place to go. She liked to watch movies, hang out with friends, and experience everything life has to offer.

She just couldn't control it when the monster side of her was going to come out. That was the work of Rita and Zedd when they really needed her.

"Checkmate." Billy shifted a knight forward and grinned at Avalon's cry of outrage.

"Oh come on!" The orange ranger slapped her hands against the table, creating a loud metallic clang that rocked through the cafeteria. She didn't appear to notice when it drew the attention of a purple-clad group a few tables away. "I was really bloody close that time!"

"That's what she said," Rocky snickered. He let out a cry of pain when Aisha, Kimberly—who leaned across the table to get to him—, Avalon, and Sabrina all gave him a sharp punch or slap to the arm. The boys laughed uproarisly. "Ow! I was just kidding!"

Avalon slumped back in her seat, pouting as she continued to stare at the board. Finally, she reached out her hand and flicked over her King, using her other hand to rest her chin. "I'll win sometime, Smurf. Just you wait."

"I'll be waiting patiently then." Wry smile widening, Billy reached out and started to take down the pieces and pack up the chess board. Once finished, he replaced it in his backpack and pulled his tray over to finish up his lunch. Lifting his eyes at the notice of movement in the doorway of the cafeteria, spotted Violet, then hunched his shoulders, trying to appear smaller.

"Something wrong, Billy?" Tommy asked, noticing his sudden shift in demeanor. He followed the blue ranger's gaze then smiled, nudging him on the arm with his elbow. "There's Violet and she's headed this way."

The pink ranger pushed her half eaten tray of food away from her and reached out and ruffled his hair, teasingly. "Someone's getting embarrassed." She picked up her napkin and tossed it on top of her food, hiding most of it.

"I'm not embarrassed," Billy protested. "I just…don't know what to say."

"Well, you won't have to wait long, mate." Avalon tossed her hair behind her shoulders. "She's headed this way and has her laser beam eyes are right on you."

Aisha, Sabrina, and Kimberly giggled as Violet arrived at their table, holding onto her tray. As Avalon had said, her eyes were right on Billy. "Hi, Billy," she greeted her shyly

"Hi, Violet," Billy replied with a slight stutter. He cleared his throat, sitting up straight now. "How're you doing? How's your day going?"

"We really liked what you've made in art class so far," Kimberly added. "If even the bottom half of whatever it's supposed to be is that good, then I can't wait to see the rest."

"Yeah, it was really lifelike," Adam agreed.

Violet blushed. "Thank you." She took the last empty seat at the table that Tommy motioned to her and dropped her hands to her lap. "I've been working really hard on it. Day and night, actually. Art class is one of the few subjects I'm good at."

"That's not true," Billy protested. "You're a great addition to the science club and you really excel in our math class."

"It's an accelerated math class and she _really_ excels at it," Rocky added. "Even better than Billy, here."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that," Violet gently denied. She looked shyly over the rim of her glasses. "Billy's great at everything."

"That's so nice of you to say, Violet," Aisha said to her as Billy shifted uncomfortably and Kimberly's smile widened. The pink ranger's eyes moved back and forth between the blue ranger and the girl that obviously held a lot of affection for him. Glancing around the table, she could see that the other rangers were doing their best not to burst out laughing as well.

Violet continued. "And anyway, my statue is gonna take a lot of work. Just like Tommy's wooden sculpture is going to take a bit to work out until its right."

Tommy looked pained as he thought about the vase shaped…thing he had made in art class. It was going to be some sort of his project, even he _and_ the teacher had no idea what was going on in his head to have made it. It appeared to be some sort of an alien's head and at that point he wanted nothing more than to destroy it with a flamethrower. Where were Avalon's powers of manipulating fire when he needed it?

"And I think the drawing that you're working on, Av, is really great," Violet complemented the orange ranger.

"Don't call me Av," Avalon said abruptly. A second later she blinked in surprise and turned to the girl. "Sorry, habits are hard to break." She cleared her throat, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And thanks, though I'm having a lot of trouble with it, yeah? It's not great but I can make it better."

"That's good." Sabrina gave a helpful nod. "Being positive about your outcome is the best way to reach success."

"If that's the case then I _know_ I'll be able to hit every shoe sale that's going on this weekend!" Kimberly cheered, punching the air with her fists. " _And_ do it in record time, too." Laughing, she leaned over and gave Avalon and Aisha a high-five.

"It's nice to see what your priorities are, Kim," Rocky teased. "I, on the other hand, have the dream of going to Disney World and eating all of the food that's offered in each of the different countries." He rubbed his hands together gleefully before letting out a whimper. "It's gonna be hard to get there, all of us, I mean. So for now it's just a dream."

"Then we can plan the senior trip to go to Disney World," Tommy suggested. "Simple as that."

"That'd be great, but Maria will be mad at me if I went without her. She loves Mickey Mouse."

"Goofy is my favorite," Adam spoke up. "He always makes me laugh. He's a nice guy, too."

"He's my favorite, too," Sabrina agreed. "When I was a little girl my Mom would buy me all sorts of Goofy stuff. The large hat with his ears was always my favorite."

Violet giggled and continued to eat. She smiled over at Billy, who gave a shy smile back, looking away, and then her eyes shifted behind him at one of the tables that was a few feet away. She recognized the people sitting at it, they were ones that were always dressed in purple letterman jackets and kept to themselves. There was a strange aura around them, a tension that was felt whenever they were near. Not even the obvious drug dealers and gang bangers, the boys that sat at a table on the far side of the cafeteria, messed with them.

But now they were staring their way, small smiles on their faces.

"Hey Av—I mean, Avalon, why are all of them staring at you?" She pointed in the direction and the table turned to look. Aisha looked at them and looked back to see Avalon's face had gone slightly pale, though she otherwise didn't acknowledge them.

"I don't know, mate. I'm an Australian living in America, I'm sure my accent gets me funny looks alone," she said dismissively.

"If not your slang and funny tasting food," Rocky agreed.

"You're just mad as a cut snake because I tricked you into eating vegemite when I knew you weren't going to like it."

"See! Like that!"

Aisha smiled at the horror that had filled Rocky's expression as he remembered his ill-fated sample of the bread spread Vegemite. She had thought it was absolutely disgusting, the taste of peanuts was so strong and hit the back of her throat in such a way that as soon as it touched her tongue she wanted to puke. The orange and purple rangers had convinced each and every one of the rangers that it was one of the best things they would ever have and then cackled like a bunch of hyenas each and every time they had made a face or sputtered.

And it went down the line like that until Rocky was the last one to go. Food was one of his greatest comforts in life, the yellow ranger had learned about him pretty quickly, as his mother put her love into each and every one of her meals. The look of complete and utter betrayal at the food he found he didn't like was something that had her laughing every now and then throughout the rest of the trip in Australia.

"Anyway, it's not something that should be worried about anyway," Avalon continued with a dismissive wave of her hand. Aisha's eyebrows furrowed, noticing how quickly the orange ranger changed the subject and how the conversation moved on.

Once lunch ended the rangers, Sabrina, and Violet picked up their trays and emptied them in the trashcan before they headed off to their clubs period. Aisha let out a quiet sigh as she and Kimberly headed off to the gardening club, Billy and Violet went to the science club, Scorpina went off to poetry club, Avalon went to volleyball club, and Tommy, Rocky, and Adam went to the martial arts club.

"What's wrong, girl?" Kimberly asked, nudging Aisha. "Normally you're bouncing off the walls as much as the next guy, but you look like you've just lost your best friend." Aisha shrugged, trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation. "But last I checked, Rocky and Adam were still your best friends. Rocky more so than Adam…?"

Aisha stopped walking and Kimberly gracefully turned to face her, her pigtails gently brushing over her shoulders. "What do you—"

"You like Rocky, don't you?" Kimberly pressed. Aisha's mouth dropped open and the yellow ranger felt her face grow hot. Thankfully, her skin wasn't able to turn a bright red as she knew it would be for anyone else. "Don't try to deny it, Aisha. I know everything about matters of the heart and I can tell; you were jealous of the attention Rocky was giving everyone."

Aisha tilted her head back, allowing her long braids that were pulled back into a ponytail to dust the floor. Righting herself, she brought a hand up to her forehead and gently shook it. "I don't…it's just…Rocky and Adam have been my best friends for years. I've had sleepovers with them, I've grown up with them, I've seen then do basically every disgusting thing that a boy can do and still want to be around them. But…I don't know…Rocky and I have always been closer."

"That's so cute!" Kimberly clasped her hands together, gently rocking back and forth. "This is so perfect. I knew you two were meant to be together. I could tell when I first met you." She bobbed her head. "OK, yes, I was still a little freaked out with my friends leaving, but...I knew it."

"Promise you won't say anything?"

"I promise. But we really need to talk." Kimberly looped her arm through Aisha's and the two headed off to their club. "And please don't leave _anything_ out."

Aisha laughed.

* * *

 

"Are you sure you want to do this, Av?" Bailey asked, stretching out on the ground. Pushing her hair back from her face she looked around at the park.

Stretching her arms over her head, Avalon followed her movements. For once it appeared to be a peaceful day. Nothing had come up on the viewing globe at the Command Center, Zordon and Alpha didn't sense anything, in fact they had been the ones that suggested that Bailey take some time away from the Command Center and to herself.

"At this point I feel like this is the only way I'm going to get some peace," Avalon finally said, looking at her sister. She then tilted her head and motioned over to Fred, who was lying on the grass at the purple ranger's side, arms crossed behind his head, his hat covering his face. "And I think it'd make it so that you didn't have to be so weird around him."

Fred removed his hat. "I don't think she's weird," he protested.

Avalon gave him a gentle smile. "That's good to hear, Fred. But there're some things that you need to know that I was afraid to say before. I'm not afraid to say it now." Leaning back, she scratched at her shoulder, her frown deepening for a minute.

"And here I thought you weren't scared of anything," Fred said to her.

"Most of the things I'm scared of have to do with this one." Reaching out with her foot, she tapped Bailey on the shin, who swatted at her. "If you don't keep an eye on her, she can get into a heap of trouble."

"That's hysterical coming from you, Sis," Bailey replied deadpan.

"And that's why I want to talk to everyone."

"What's up with your voice, Av?" Bailey giggled when she heard the raspiness of her sister's voice.

"I lost it. Singing too much with my music class. And if you don't stop laughing at me, I'll tickle you."

"No, you won't."

Now Fred sat up, squinting an eye against the sunlight. "What—"

"Hey guys!" Rocky shouted, waving an arm over his head as the rangers walked over to the patch of grass the orange and purple rangers had preoccupied. "Wow, it's a great day today. I'm glad that you wanted to meet at the park." With a long sigh, he stretched out on the ground.

"After school at the park," Adam agreed. "I could get used to this."

"So what're we all here for?" Aisha crossed her legs at the knee. "It sounded really important on the phone." When Avalon agreed and scratched at her shoulder again, Aisha couldn't help but notice the movement and then noticed the spot on her shoulder. "Is…is that a gunshot wound?"

"What?!" Fred's eyes widened as he leaned forward to get a better look. His eyes shifted. "That sling," he finally said. "You were wearing a sling because you got shot?" Then his eyes widened in recognition and he slapped his thigh. "You were the one that was shot during prom weren't you? That's why you were in the hospital!"

"Wait that was you?" Rocky asked. "We heard about it over in Stone Canyon it as a pretty big deal thee."

Avalon moved her lower jaw to the side, now scratching her neck. "Yes," she admitted. "That was me. And the rumors surrounding it, that it was because of gang activity…that's true too."

"Av," Tommy said suddenly.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Av?" Kimberly added, looking at her friend in concern.

Billy studied her for a long moment then nodded at her, letting out a quiet sigh. "She wants to do this, Kim. We have to respect Ava's wishes." Avalon glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "I do."

Kimberly and Tommy exchanged glances and the two of them nodded as well.

Spurned by the trust that her friends put in her, Avalon started speaking. "The long and the short of it is that the guys that you saw watching me in the cafeteria, they're the High-Flyers. Or some of them anyway, as far as I'm concerned they're fringes considering they're still in school as opposed to being on the street. But they may be working like Rita and Zedd to try and get some information."

"What does that mean?" the black ranger questioned.

"It means that they're a gang. A street gang. They're one of the rivals of the gang that I used to be a part of, The Vipers." Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Fred reacted with shock and surprise. "My Mum and Dad split up, my Dad got custody, shipped us off here to live with an Aunt, not knowing she moved and we were on our own. I met Chase and he knew exactly what to say because I found him to be someone I could talk to. He told me he was making more money than he ever thought he would with an actual job. It took me a while to figure out they were a gang but by then it was too late and I was sucked in." She held up her wrist to show off the 'V' tattoo. "And I sold my life to them. The tattoo is to show you're a Viper and you're always going to be one, no matter what you do. It was my initiation to the group, to prove I really wanted to be there.

"Basically I ran with them for a couple of years, Bailey asked to go to school, I enrolled us in Angel Grove Middle and High and met these guys It was hard trying to balance it all at first because I knew I was doing nothing but putting myself, Bay, and the others in constant danger while still being part of the Vipers. Jason and Kim got the brunt end of it. It wasn't until I passed out from exhaustion that I told them, but it was still hard to get out. Chase is really manipulative when he wants to be and he definitely had a hold over me. I agreed that I would keep doing what it was that he wanted me to do as long as by the time he was done with my help he would let me out of the gang no questions asked. It took a while, I tested his anger many times, but I was working my way out. The Cranstons took me and Bailey in and things were getting better.

"We were at Prom when I got notice from Chase that he wanted my help and, like an idiot I thought I could be done with it quickly and come back. But we were ambushed by the High-Flyers and we fought back as hard as we could. Summer, who was one of the members of my gang, had gone crazy and shot me. It wasn't until later that I found out that Chase turned himself in for shooting me and that Skye and Summer went on the run. I was out then, I knew that for sure. But things were still different; there's amped up security at school, I had bodyguards from Bulk and Skull—"

"—Thanks explains it," Rocky broke in.

"—And I have the High-Flyers watching my every move to be sure I'm not going to start up a new gang or something, but now that they have their land they're pretty harmless." Avalon, who had been ripping out handfuls of grass as she spoke, let another handful drift away in the breeze. "I mucked up a lot, with the things I've done before. But things are getting heaps better now. I just didn't think you deserved to be kept in the dark about it anymore." She shrugged. "Or that you won't judge me too much."

"Judge you?" Adam repeated, eyes narrowing. "We…we won't judge you. The fact that you've tried hard to let Bailey have the best life she could, and try to make things better yourself…" he trailed off, but Avalon knew what he was going to say. He would've said it if Fred wasn't around.

Avalon smiled. "Bonzer," she said quietly.

"Why'd you decide to tell us now?" Fred asked. There wasn't any malice in his voice, just pure curiosity.

"I didn't think it was right…living a lie anymore," Avalon said. "And you all deserved to know." Suddenly very self-conscious, she brought a hand up to move her hair from her face, an effective way to hide the emotion that filled her.

When she lowered her hand once more, she gazed along at the faces around her. Bailey got up and went over to her sister, giving her a hug. Then Kimberly and Aisha went over and hugged her as well.

Before she knew it, Avalon was stuck under a pile of her friends, letting her know that everything was going to be all right.

And that was all she wanted for a long time.


	43. Earth to Earth (1)

**Chapter 43**

_Earth To Earth_

* * *

 

"I have to go or else I'll be late," Tommy said, flying through the kitchen. He reached up, grabbing onto his ponytail and sliding his fingers through it, which was starting to become his nervous habit, eyes darting around the kitchen for his missing books. "And I have no idea where my homework is!"

Mrs. Oliver laughed as she and her husband sat at the breakfast table, taking their sweet time. "I tried waking you up, honey. Did your alarm not go off?"

Tommy let out a sigh, running his hand over his ponytail once more. "I don't know," he said. "I'm sure I set the alarm before I went to sleep. I wanted to get some extra studying in for my test today."

"Well, Tommy, you do have the tendency to be forgetful." Mr. Oliver paused for a moment then let out a bark of laughter, his wife joining in. Tommy rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help but smile a little. It was true, if it was anything that didn't have to do with martial arts, he always seemed to forget or run late for it. He was surprised that he didn't have some sort of tracking device put on him because of it.

"Yeah, yeah," the white ranger said good naturedly. "I've just had a lot I've needed to do lately." He continued to look around the kitchen. _Like keeping my relationship with Kim a secret, finding my books, passing my test, getting my martial arts classes done, pass my test, finish my homework, get my part of the adoption process done, and that's when I'm not fending off monsters every day._ Going into the living room, he found his textbooks and homework sitting on the arm chair, where he had been the night before. "Oh yeah, that's where I put it."

Picking up his things, he shoved them into his backpack and grabbed the lunch his mother packed for him. He went over to his mother and gave her a kiss on the cheek and his father a high-five before heading out the front door. "Bye Mom, Bye Dad, see you later!"

* * *

 

"Are you ready to go, Bay?" Avalon finished packing up her backpack and turned to her sister, who was sitting on the floor of their room, packing her own backpack. She tilted her head to the side when the purple ranger didn't respond. "OK, does this have to do with the fact that you're going to be taking a high school class now? Or the whole adoption thing?"

"Both," Bailey said quietly.

She lowered her head and allowed her long brown hair to fall over her face. Avalon instantly recognized the movement as the thing she did whenever she was trying to hide the expression on her face. Or to keep people from knowing what she was really feeling. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Avalon rested her arms on her knees and studied her sister for a long moment.

"What about it is bugging you, Sis?"

"Do we have to move again?" Bailey asked, lifting her head. "When we get adopted I mean?" She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm tired of moving and I'm tired of wondering if things will fall apart as soon as we get somewhere. What if this doesn't work out either? Will we be left without a family again? Will we go back to Australia to live with Mum? I mean, she gave up her rights to us too."

"Hey." Avalon reached out and placed her hands on her sister's cheeks. She brushed her hair back behind her ears and angled her head up so that she could look into her sister's eyes. "It doesn't matter what happens when all is said and done. Because as long as you and I are together we're a family. So don't worry about that. And we won't have to worry about moving for a while, the adoption papers still have to go through, social services still have to check out the Olivers, and Mum is still or Mum even if she doesn't have the rights." She gently shook her sister. "Calm down."

Bailey smiled and turned her head away, brushing her sister's hands off of her face. "Ok. I get it. No need to get all mushy."

"Mush is what I do when the time is right, and when there's no one else to witness it," Avalon said, holding up her hands. She leaned back. "Besides, from what I've been told by the Olivers, this process may take a while, so there's nothing to worry about this early."

Billy knocked on the door frame of the room before walking in, sliding his backpack off his shoulder and dropping it to the ground. Avalon and Bailey greeted him in unison as he sat on the floor with them. "We're going to be late if we don't head off to school," he said to them.

Rolling her eyes, Avalon reached out and smacked Billy on the knee cap. Wincing, he pulled his leg away as Bailey giggled. "Nice to know the only thing you can contribute to a conversation is related to school work." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Really, Smurf, you need to get a life."

"I have a life," he defended himself. "And the fact it's about experiments, science, math, and our zords doesn't bother me so it shouldn't bother you." He flashed her a warm smile, causing her to stick her tongue out at him and Bailey to laugh. "Are you ready for the test today?'

"I should be," she replied. "I spent all of last night studying for it." She blew her bangs out of her face. "I'm not going to have a repeat of not being able to do something because my grades are so bad." Pulling her knees to her chest, she wrapped her arms around them. Her eyes shifted over towards her sister. "Don't be like me," she warned her.

"I'm not," Bailey shot back. "I'm better."

Avalon rolled her eyes but fell into laughter with Bailey and Billy. Billy motioned they should get going and the three got up from the floor of the room and went down to the foyer to grab their shoes. Lacey and David were getting ready to go to work and met the three teenagers at the front of the house.

"Are you excited about going to the high school today, Bailey?" David asked her, gently placing his briefcase on the floor.

"Nervous is the better word," Bailey replied. "I mean, I'm smart, but I don't want anyone to think I'm a nerd or something."

"What's the matter with that?" Avalon asked. She jerked her thumb over at Billy. "Everyone already thinks he's a nerd and no one cares, yeah?" Billy shoved her on the shoulder and she smiled back at him. "Kidding."

"Don't worry about that," Lacey reassured the purple ranger. "You just keep being yourself. It's a great honor to be invited to take some high school classes when you're this young. It proves that you're very talented and care very much about your education." Bailey smiled and nodded. "We'll be back late today, feel free to make whatever you want for dinner."

"Have a good day at work," Billy said to his parents with a smile and a nod.

* * *

 

Kimberly pushed her food around her plate as she sat at the breakfast table. She let out a heavy sigh, scanning her plate. She had eaten the fruit with no problems; it gave the right amount of energy and was really healthy. But the bacon, the cinnamon roll, the eggs made in the same pan as the bacon…it looked so disgusting.

Fattening.

A step back from the health and fitness regime she had been working on. And when it wasn't monster fights or gymnastics that was taking up a lot of her time, it was avoiding her mother. But she had been forced to have breakfast with her that morning and despite Kim's want to just run out the door and put in an early morning workout before heading out to school, she humored her mother even a little bit.

"Is everything alright, Kim?" Mrs. Hart asked, watching her daughter continue to pick at her food.

"Fine." The short answer from the pink ranger told her mother everything she needed to know. She was still angry over their fight and it seemed like nothing was going to ease the tension between them.

"Are you sure? Because you haven't really eaten anything and—"

"I'm just not hungry." Thankful for the excuse, Kimberly pushed the plate away from her and started to gather her dishes together. "I have so much I need to get done. And I have a test this morning that I want to get some last minutes studying in for." She walked her dishes across the vast kitchen and to the sink, running water over them to soak for later. "I have to go."

Mrs. Hart got up from her seat and followed her daughter through the house and towards the front door. Kimberly stopped to pick up her backpack and gym bag, struggling to keep the bulging bag to stay on her shoulder. Frowning, Mrs. Hart studied her only daughter, she appeared thinner than usual. Not so much that it would be a problem, but she couldn't help but notice how much time Kimberly spent at the gym, more so than usual. Going to the Olympic was always her dream, but now…it seemed that she was pushing herself a bit too hard.

"Kim, why don't you take a break after school today and come shopping with me," she suggested.

"Why?" Kimberly kept her back towards her mother, stabilizing herself. "So we can act like everything between us is normal?" She turned back to her mother, brown eyes staring straight into her mother's. "I'm not ready to talk yet, Mom. You…you dismissed a relationship I really care about and you won't listen to what I have to say about it."

"You won't listen to what I have to say either," Mrs. Hart pointed out.

"And what makes you think I'd want to listen now?" A sigh escaped Kimberly's mouth. "I know…we've never fought like this before…but I can't ignore what you've said. I've never given you a reason to worry about me before and you shouldn't have to do it now. I know you're probably worried about your _own_ relationships, but don't take it out on me."

Turning her back on her mother, Kimberly grasped the doorknob and opened the front door with a quick jerk of her arm. She slipped out of the door, only pausing when her mother wished her to have a good day of school. Kimberly stood at the door, her hand on the knob for a long moment.

"Thanks," she finally said before closing the door behind her.

* * *

 

"And what is it that you're going to be doing after school today?" Mrs. DeSantos asked Rocky as he sat on the couch in the living room, bent over as he tied his shoes. Maria was draped over his back, her arms around his neck. She giggled each time he leaned forward to grasp his laces.

"I'm going to take my brothers and sisters to the park," Rocky replied. He sat up straight, reaching behind him to pick up Maria and cuddled her in his arms. She giggled louder as he dug his fingers into her ribs and sides. "Mama, I promised that I'd take them there before I went on my trip and I intend to keep my promise." He nodded with his chin over towards Antonio, Diego, and Isabella as they finished their breakfast at the table. "They won't let me forget either."

"So where do you go running off to all the time, anyway?" Diego called over to his eldest brother. Rocky froze for a moment. "I mean, you always have an excuse to go see your friends or something."

"Even _I_ don't see my friends all the time," Isabella agreed.

Rocky pointed at them. "Finish your breakfast. I don't want you to meet the bus to school." Diego and Isabella did as they were told and Mrs. DeSantos laughed as she reached her arms out for Maria. The red ranger passed her over and the woman picked up a nearby hairbrush, smoothing it over her daughter's hair.

"As for where I'm always going, I have a lot of commitments to clubs and my martial arts classes and practices," Rocky said calmly, though he was sure the look his mother sent his way meant she knew he was lying. "I have to stay out of trouble somehow, right?"

Mrs. DeSantos humphed and repositioned her daughter. "Or you're trying to hide that you have a girlfriend."

Isabella, Diego, and Antonio laughed.

Rocky's eyes widened. "What girlfriend?" he asked. At Mrs. DeSantos's sly smile, he rolled his eyes. "Mom, Aisha and I aren't dating. I keep telling you that." Mrs. DeSantos merely shrugged, the sly smile still on her lips. There was a triple knock on the front door and it opened as Adam and Aisha walked inside. "Hey guys," he greeted them.

"Hey." Aisha smiled warmly and opened her arms as Isabella, Diego, and Antonio hurried over towards her. "Hey guys, how are you?" She hugged each one of Rocky's brothers and sisters before going over to Maria and tickling her cheek. "And how are you doing today, little Miss. Maria?"

"I'm fine," Maria replied.

"We should get going, Rocky," Adam said to the red ranger. "Test day, remember?"

"I remember." Rocky picked up his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "This one is going to be a major killer." He leaned over and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek then his youngest sister a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll see you guys later. Wish me luck on the test."

"Buena suerte en tu examen, Rocky. Que tengas un gran día. Y no se olvide de tomar sus hermanos y hermanas al parque esta vez," Mrs. DeSantos said. Her forehead was set in concentration, though her eyes were sparkling with mischief.

Rocky waved to her and his brothers and sisters before he and his best friends left the house, going over to his truck. Tossing his backpack into the flatbed, he glanced over at his friends to see the slightly confused expression on their faces. "She wants me to spend more time with my brothers and sisters." Sighing, he walked over to the front door and climbed behind the steering wheel. "I really want to, but this power rangers business is always getting in the way. I really want to tell them what's going on…but it'll just put them in more danger than ever."

"I know what you mean." Aisha climbed into the backseat and quickly buckled in. "My Mom and Dad are always wondering where I'm going and I'm tired of lying to them. Honesty is a really big thing in my family and I know they're starting to get suspicious." She crossed her arms over her chest as Rocky started up the truck and backed out of the driveway, heading towards the school. "I don't think I can come up with any more excuses."

"Same here," Adam agreed. "It probably doesn't help that I'm an only child either. They always know what I'm doing and where I'm going. I don't think they'll always believe that I'm going to a martial arts class." He slouched down in his seat, frowning.

"So just tell them you're with Sabrina," Rocky suggested. He and Aisha—who leaned in from the back seat—grinned at the black ranger, who flushed. "I'm sure they'll back off a bit when they find out you have a girlfriend." He paused. "Finally."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Not _yet_ ," Aisha contradicted. Reaching out, she poked the black ranger on the shoulder and he swatted her away. Laughing, Aisha sat back in her seat, crossing her arms. "You have to stay positive, Adam. The girl likes you."

"She's a monster, but she likes you," Rock said and laughed at his joke. It was still something they had to get through, get used to. Thankfully Scorpina hadn't been used in any of their recent fights, but the time was soon going to come where they didn't have a choice but to fight her.

To destroy her.

Then the question was, would they be destroying Scorpina or would Sabrina be destroyed too. It was the worst thing they would ever have to face, not only would they kill a monster for the first time, but they would also be potentially killing an innocent person at the same time. That was one of the things the three of them weren't ready for when they had agreed to take on the responsibility of being rangers.

That at one point or another they were going to have to kill something or someone and would have to deal with the aftermath of it.

* * *

 

Rita grinned over at Zedd, who appeared to smile back at her. The time was right for them to get started on their master plan. Scorpina was already in the school waiting for her chance to strike, then all they had to do was send down Goldar and the new green ranger. With Tommy, who was more or less the strongest of all of the rangers, preoccupied fighting the green ranger, the rest of the rangers would be vulnerable.

There was no way for them to get to enough privacy to morph and they wouldn't risk morphing in front of anyone else. They were aware of Zordon's rules for the rangers and after having had Zack taken away from them as well as Jason and Trini, it was only a matter of time until the rest of the rangers had that problem as well.

And they were going to make give that nudge in the right direction if not going ahead and destroying them when they get the chance.

"What would you like me to do my Empress?" The Green Ranger asked. He was in Tommy's human form, a green bandana covering his long hair. Goldar stood at his side, tightly holding onto his sword, ready for the chance for him to strike.

"Wait until we give the signal," Rita replied. She reached out and stroked the green ranger's cheek, gently running her nails over his cheek. The green ranger continued to give a blank stare ahead of him, every now and then his eyes flashing color. "Then you will go down and face the white ranger. Make sure you incapacitate him, kill him if you have to. It'll give us the right amount of time to get the other rangers and the part of our plan will be done."

Zedd then stepped forward, motioning with his Z-staff over towards Earth. "And after that, we'll send Diabolico down to take care of the ones that the rangers care about the most. Their parents. As soon as they get the message, they'll immediately turn around and surrender to us and we'll finally take over the galaxy!" He thrust his hands into the air and laughed evilly, voice echoing around the balcony and the surrounding space of the moon.

Rita's laughter mixed in as well.

Diabolico, who had been floating aside, continued to watch the rangers' parents as they moved along the earth. If they were going to get the message across to the rangers, the message had to be a strong one. So the target had to be the one that would inflict the most damage upon the rangers. So who would it be? The white rangers' family seemed to be the best target but Rita and Zedd were already targeting him with the green ranger clone, the pink ranger appeared to be in a fight with her mother, he may be doing her a service if that happened. The blue ranger's parents were a good target, though they were more than likely smart enough to figure out how to get away from his grasp before he could do anything. Then there were the parents of the black and yellow rangers, they were fighters, they'd make it harder for him but it might be more entertaining.

Diabolico slowly grinned. He could see it now. The way they would scream, howl, and struggle as he inflicted some of the most agonizing attacks on them as long as he found entertainment in it. Watching the agonizing pine they would go through, eventually begging for death which he would give agonizingly slowly. His years of using demonic powers on people to help Queen Banshira and her plans to take over the world had been some of the most pleasurable experiences he ever had. And while he was now only a spirit but able to move from his entombment, the mere thought of it made him want to go rogue.

However, he had his own plan up his sleeve and didn't want to make any mistake to jeopardize that.

But still.

If he hadn't had his orders, Diabolico would probably go after the siblings of the red ranger as well as the mother.

Not only would it hurt him on an emotional level, but it would on a mental level as well. It was obvious the red ranger took his position in his family very seriously and he cherished them enough. It would be a crushing blow, enough to send the red ranger into enough despair he'd be the easiest one to destroy. In fact, he'd more than likely be asking for himself to be slain at that point, wanting to be with his family once more.

And Diabolico would be glad to do that for him.

"Just wait a bit longer," Rita said to the green ranger, continuing to lovingly stroke his cheek before running her hand up and down his chest, inching lower and lower with each pass. "Then you can go and do my bidding for me. But in the meantime…" she turned to Zedd, who had been watching the Earth with eerie conviction. "Zeddy?"

"Yes, my dear." Zedd turned his staff to Goldar and pointed it at him. "Go! Go down to the school like you've done before. Bring and _army_ of the putties with you. And take Scorpina with you! You're going to make sure that no one gets in or out of the school. We need to be sure the rangers are backed into a corner."

"Yes, my liege!" Goldar bowed before disappearing in flames.

Zedd growled in excitement, he was practically trembling. Holding out an arm, Zedd motioned for Rita to come to his side and as she leaned into him, he wrapped n arm around her waist, holding her flush against him. "Have I ever told you that when you're constructing the destruction of the rangers you look ravishing?"

Rita giggled and placed her hands on the sides of Zedd's face. "No, but I don't mind hearing it." She leaned in and gave him a long, passionate kiss. "I don't mind hearing it at all." She turned back towards the Earth, moving towards her telescope. "Now to watch the rangers' ultimate destruction!"

"Later." Zedd clamped his hand over Rita's wrist as hard as he could, enjoying the way she winced in pain. "Right now, we have more important things to do." A low rumble came from his chest and he dragged her off of the balcony in the direction of their chambers quarters.

Left on the balcony, Diabolico watched the Earth for another long moment then turned into his spirit form, waiting for his moment to strike.

* * *

 

"Ok class." Ms. Appleby clasped her hands together as she looked around the room at her students. "I know you're all afraid that this test is going to be very difficult. But you've have plenty of time to study and I know you're all going to do well." She glanced up at the clock that sat above her desk, waiting for the second hand to get to the top of the clock then turned back to her students. "You may begin, and good luck."

The rangers and their classmates turned over their tests and flipped off the front page, getting right to work. As Billy started to fly through the first few problems, Tommy, Kimberly, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Avalon all slowly went along their own tests. They had only managed to get halfway through the test before a shrill scream accompanied with an evil laugh caught their attention.

Goldar was standing at the front of the room, waving his sword above his head. As he did so, a swarm of putties appeared beside him and two of them reached forward and grabbed onto the teacher.

"Ms. Appleby!" Kimberly cried as the woman once again screamed in fear.

"You let her go!" Tommy added.

Goldar pointed his sword over to the white ranger. "I bet you wouldn't want the blood of this woman or these teenagers on your hands!" He then waved the sword over to the rest of the class as the putties surged over and grabbed onto their classmates.

As the putties converged upon the putties, they fought back the best they could. Avalon vaulted over a desk, landing in the chair as a putty followed her. Pulling up the wood portion of the desk, a putty that had been aiming a punch towards her drove its fist into the wood. It brought its hand back held onto its wrist and Avalon took the chance to pull herself out of the seat and drive her foot into the center of the Z-plate.

Kimberly picked up her backpack and swung it at a putty, knocking it back. Using the momentum of the swing, she turned and did a series of backhand springs out of the way of a series of kicks and drove the heel of her palm into the Z-plate.

Billy and Aisha tag-teamed as a group of putties moved over to grab onto them. Using a combination of Aisha's ninja expertise and Billy's strategic fighting and gymnastics skills made it so that they were able to fend off the putties that came their way. Ducking low, Billy gave Aisha a strong surface for Aisha to step on his back and jump off, striking a putty in the z-plate with a well placed kick.

Rocky and Adam tried to fight off the putties that were going after their classmates, but after the first ones managed to make it out the classroom door, more and more appeared, trying to fight off the rangers. Adam threw a putty off his back and flipped it to the ground, driving an elbow into its z-plate. Beside him, Rocky did a kick-drop and knocked the putty to the floor where it writhed around before breaking apart.

There was a high-pitched scream and the two turned and watched as Sabrina huddled over her desk, holding her hands to her head. As the seconds passed, the red and black rangers could see she was starting to change into Scorpina and was putting up a fight to keep from transforming completely.

"Sabrina!" Adam moved to her side and grabbed onto her. "Sabrina, you have to fight this!"

"Let go of her!" Goldar roared, suddenly very hostile. He brought his sword up and charged towards the red and black rangers.

Tommy blocked him and kicked his sword out of the way before sending a barrage of fists and feet at Goldar. Snarling, Goldar grabbed Tommy by the throat and threw him out of the way, causing him to crash to the floor.

"Tommy!" Kimberly cried, struggling to get away from the putties that had her.

"Hang on," Billy added.

Tommy rolled onto his side and back to his knees, glaring up at Goldar, who was now charging at him with his word held high. Out of the corner of his eye, Tommy could see Ms. Appleby and most of the students getting taken out of the classroom and led somewhere. He focused his gaze on Goldar, who moved closer, knocking desks out of his way.

"You're mine!" Goldar swung his sword down and Tommy rolled out of the way.

The sword hitting the ground caused a crack to form in the tiled floor. He gulped. The sword would've clearly sliced through his neck if he hadn't moved quickly enough. Goldar swung around and continued to swing towards the white ranger with the most aggression any of the rangers had ever seen.

Tommy stood up and did a series of high-jump kicks to Goldar, holding him back as hard as he could. Goldar waited for the opportune moment to strike and swung his word down once more. Once again, Tommy rolled out of the way and the sword crashed through Ms. Appleby's desk, splitting it in two.

"Get them out of here," Goldar directed to the putties. "Every last one of them!"

More putties appeared in the classroom, obviously being sent down by Finster as quickly as his monster machine could make them. The rangers were soon overpowered. Adam was ripped away from Scorpina, his arms forced behind his back. He struggled to get free but he had three putties holding him still, making his attempts at escape futile. The rangers were forced to the center of the room and knelt down in front of Goldar.

Goldar walked over to Scorpina, who was still writhing as she did her best to hold from her transportation. Her nails dug into the wood of the desk, creating deep scratch marks. "No," she whimpered. "No."

"Sabrina, you have to fight it off," Aisha called over to her.

"Don't let Scorpina take over!" Billy added. "She's not you! She's just using your body as a vessel."

"Cause that makes it so much better, Smurf," Avalon mumbled. She blew her hair out of her face and closed her eyes tight, gritting her teeth. She twisted back and forth as hard as she could, trying to get out of the grasp of the putties that held her. "Let go!" Falling onto her side, she brought a foot up to kick a putty, but it pushed her foot out of the way and drove a fist into her stomach. A loud gasp of air escaped her lips as her face went pale.

"Av!" Kimberly cried. She let out a shriek as Goldar nodded to the putties and she was lifted to her feet, an arm around her neck. She made a choking sound.

"Kim." Tommy hurried towards his girlfriend but was faltered as Goldar pointed his sword towards him. The gold monster turned to Sabrina and brought out a hand, roughly grabbing onto her face. He tilted her head back and stared hard into her eyes. "Scorpina, we have work to do," he said to her. "Come out and help me!"

Rocky, who had his arms pinned tightly to his sides, continued to twist back and forth. "Sabrina, don't listen to him. We're your friends. We're going to help you the best we can."

Still holding onto Sabrina's face, his nails cutting pinpricks into her skin, Goldar leaned in close to her. "We have orders from Rita and Zedd, come to me now!" Sabrina screamed and closed her eyes. There was a blast of gold light and Scorpina was in her place. She stood up and smiled up at Goldar, placing her hand on his forearm.

"We'll make Rita and Zedd proud," she purred and Goldar dropped his hand. She turned to the rangers, the only occupants in the room, the rest of their classmates having been taken. At the sound of screaming and chairs falling over radiating up and down the hall, the rangers could tell they weren't the only ones being attacked.

"Don't think you'll get away with this, Goldar," Tommy said, glaring at him. "You've tried before and you failed then."

"Tommy."

The voice caused the other rangers to stare at Tommy, eyes wide with shock and surprise. The white ranger, noticing the stares, felt a shiver of fear run down his spine as he recognized the voice. No one else had the ability to place that amount of malice in the word. He knew because it was him that had done it before. Tommy slowly turned around and came face to face with an exact copy of him dressed in green.

The evil green ranger.

"No," Tommy whispered. "Th-that's impossible."

"It's possible, Tommy, and it's happening," the green ranger hissed. He looked over at Goldar and Scorpina. "Get them out of here and with the others! This one is mine!"

Billy, Avalon, Kimberly, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha let out cries of protest, struggling as they were pulled out of the classroom. The door closed and locked behind them, leaving Tommy in the room with the green ranger.

* * *

 

Lacey had just finished out of her classes and was heading to her office across the university campus. She had been enjoying the beautiful day, strolling the long way around campus to take in the beautiful weather. She frowned as the wind started to pick up and the sky darkened. Slowing to a stop, she frowned, looking up towards the sky and gasped as it continued to darkened, seemingly to warn her of impending doom.

"You're the one I've been looking for."

Turning around, Lacey trembled, spotting the figure of Diabolico standing on from of her. "W-who are you?" She demanded.

"It won't' matter who I am," Diabolico continued to hover towards her. "You're not going to live long enough to remember it anyway." Lacey took another step back, ready to turn and run, but Diabolico zoomed towards her, until he was right in her face. He grabbed onto her arms, pinning her to the ground and bored his eyes directly into hers. "Hopefully you won't feel a thing." He then closed his eyes and sucked in as hard as he could.

A strangling sound came from Lacey's mouth and her scream died on her lips as Diabolico suddenly breathed out, engulfing her in a blast of energy. As her eyes darkened, a single tear slid down her cheek and he let her go, watching as she slumped lifeless on the ground, her eyes forever looking at nothing.

"Well done," Rita said. She walked up behind Diabolico and looked down at the motionless figure on the ground. "She didn't put up much of a fight, that's good to know. Goldar and Scorpina have the rangers in their clutches and now that we've finished her off…we can get started on the next phase of the plan."

"As you wish." Diabolico held his hand up to his mouth and when he breathed out, a light, wisp trailed from his mouth, gently flowing along with the breeze and encircled Rita. The space witch lifted her scepter and it got sucked inside the red jewel.

She muttered an incantation and closed her eyes, her form then changing from Rita to that of Lacey. She waved her scepter once more and a mirror appeared in her hand. Holding it in front of her, Rita grinned at her reflection. She looked exactly the way she had planned. Everything was going smoothly, now all they had to do was start the next phase.

"I'll call you when I need you again," she said to Diabolico.

He nodded and disappeared.

Rita held up her scepter and returned to the Lunar Palace, leaving the dead woman on the sidewalk.


	44. Ashes to Ashes (2)

**Chapter 44**

_Ashes to Ashes_

"Ai yi yi yi y yi yi yi yi yi!" Alpha cried, watching the viewing globe. "This is worse than we thought, Zordon! Rita and Zedd have infiltrated the school and have the rangers hostage." He turned back to the ranger's mentor, who stared at the viewing globe with the utmost concern. "What are we going to do?"

"There is nothing we can do but believe they can find a way to stop Rita's and Zedd's plan," Zordon replied. "They're aware that the rangers will want to save their classmates, but won't have the ability to morph in front of them. Thus having the upper hand."

Alpha made a worrying noise as he looked over the control panel. Each button and section had a different use for the rangers and over the years they had helped the rangers with as many fights as they have ever fallen into. But this was more dangerous. If they helped as much as they wanted to, it would reveal the identities of the rangers to everyone in Angel Grove. But was that so bad compared to the lives they would be able to save?

Rita and Zedd wanted the rangers destroyed and what better way to do that than to get rid of the entire Angel Grove High student body when there was nothing else standing in their way. Then once the rangers were defeated, with no one else to protect Earth, Rita and Zedd will easily be able to take over the Earth and slowly rule over the galaxy.

How hard would it be for Zordon and Alpha to find new rangers?

Alpha shook his head, disgusted with himself. Was it possible for him to be disgusted or did these Earth creatures teach him more about humans and emotions than he originally thought they would. Yes, that was it. They were his friends, his family, and he and Zordon cared about them and their well being more than they originally thought. In fact, he hated the idea of using earthlings as the force to stop Rita and Zedd, especially teenagers. What did they know about being the only ones that would be able to help save the world?

They only cared about their relationships and the vapid things that teenagers dealt with day after day. But over time he found how wrong he was. They were very emotional creatures because they cared a lot about many different things, passing along their friendship and love to anyone they felt needed it. Alpha had been very hesitant about Avalon being a ranger from the very beginning when Zordon had first brought up bringing back the Stegosaurus ranger and he had seen what she was getting into. He had voiced it to Zordon many times, but the mentor had continued to press forward, saying it was a good idea. Much like the green ranger before.

And he had been right.

And the rangers had done the same, pushing aside their original thoughts and seeing the good that was inside both rangers.

It was them that had caused Alpha to know true friendship and knowing that he could do nothing to help his friends was the worst thing he had ever felt sine he had become in tune to the range of emotions he could reach.

"So we can only sit here and watch?"

"Only until one of them manages to get away," Zordon said with resignation. "Then we'll be able to contact them. Until then…we can only sit and watch."

"Ay yi yi," Alpha said quietly.

* * *

 

Bulk glanced over at Skull as they kneeled over the body that lay prone on the sidewalk.

They had been following procedures at the Police Academy, sitting in a class and learning about firearm safety, when the call came through that there was trouble at Angel Grove High School. Students were pulled away to shadow officers and Lt. Stone had commandeered Bulk and Skull once more, making it clear that he wanted the two to follow all of his instructions.

Bulk and Skull had immediately agreed and followed Lt. Stone to his police cruiser before they drove to Angel Grove University as opposed to Angel Grove High School. They had been confused at first, but it wasn't until they had arrived and followed Lt. Stone to the front quad they had understood what was wrong. The area had been taped off by campus security and while they were doing their best to keep the students away, there was a loud crowd standing around.

Some students were crying, others looks shocked, some just walked by, barely glancing at the commotion. Bulk and Skull followed Lt. Stone across the front quad and while their Lieutenant had stopped to talk to the head of campus security, the two continued over towards the figure that lay on the ground.

As his eyes landed on the figure, Skull clenched his jaw so hard that a vein popped out at the side. He swallowed thickly and looked over at Bulk, who had his hands clenched into fists before kneeling down by the woman's side.

They recognized her instantly.

Billy's mother, while being well known in the science world along with his father, had been one of their 'room mothers' when their class had been going through elementary school. She dutifully had been the one that would chaperone when a field trip came up, was the one that would pack Billy with an extra lunch in case one of his classmates didn't have money to buy lunch or forgot to bring their own, she knew everyone's parents and cared about each child from the class.

And now the woman was lying dead on the pavement, eyes half-lidded but still holding an essence of fear.

Bulk bowed his head. No matter how much he had tortured the boy that had an affinity for wearing the color blue, how many times he stole his lunch, how much he teased his friends, he wouldn't wish anything to this degree to happen to them.

"Bulkie." Skull's voice came from his side and he looked over at his best friend. "We should notify the Cranstons what happened." He cleared his throat, suddenly turning away from the body. "It won't be easy…but I think they should hear it from us…before anyone else does. I think it's the right thing to do."

Bulk thought about it. He understood what Skull was saying, and what he _wasn't_ saying. Just like Bulk, Skull was feeling waves of guilt and sympathy for the blue ranger. Yes, he knew of their identities as well. Billy, ever since Skull had met him, had been nothing but kind to everyone around him. And even when he and Bulk had teased him, he never particularly had a bad word to say against them. He never got as riled up or angry as his friends did when they were targeted by the bullies.

He wouldn't engage in the similar tactics. Instead, he continued to be nice to everyone around him. And now that he was a power ranger he did nothing but save the city and everyone in it—on many occasions Bulk and Skull in particular—from Rita's and Zedd's monsters and plans. He didn't ask for anything in return, no recognition, he continued to do it day after day and still managed to face each day with a bright smile on his face.

He didn't deserve this.

No one did.

The former bullies felt nothing but sympathy for the blue ranger and knew breaking the news to him would be hard. They couldn't do it at the moment, for now they had to finish their job. And they would do it for Billy.

The two looked back towards the body and their eyes widened. Something was wrong.

The body was gone, all that was left was a slight wind that blew around them, bringing dark clouds with it.

* * *

 

Tommy ducked out of the way as the green ranger flew at him, striking out with his fists and feet. Rather than fighting back, Tommy continued to dodge and weave out of the way, maneuvering around the empty classroom. If anything, it would tired out the green ranger, giving him a better chance to get some answers before having to fight back.

"You can't be here," Tommy said once he had enough distance between himself and the green ranger. What was left of Ms. Appleby's desk was standing between the two of them. "The powers of the green ranger are gone. They were depleted in battle."

The green ranger smiled evilly. "And yet, I'm right here," he said. "The powers of the green ranger will never die!" He leapt forward and landed on top of Ms. Appleby's desk with so much force that it crushed even further under his feet, but continued to hold steady. He reached out and grabbed Tommy around the throat with one hand, squeezing.

The white ranger's hands flew up to his neck and he tried to force the hand away, but the green ranger _was_ strong. Tommy could feel his throat starting to close, could feel the pounding start in his forehead.

"Are you going to fight me? Or are you going to make this easy for me? To do what you've always wanted, to roll over and die and die. To just give up!"

Vision darkening around the edges, Tommy brought his hands up and continued to try and pull the green ranger's hand away from his throat, but the ranger continued to squeeze as tightly as he could. The sinister smile on his face continued to increase in malice, eyes flashing red every now and then. Tommy was starting to get tired of that color in the evil ranger's eyes. It reminded him of all of the pain he inflicted upon his friends and family as he had been the green ranger.

He could still remember the hurt expressions on his mother's and Kimberly's faces when he had been so…evil to them. His demeanor had immediately changed because of the evil spell that Rita had put upon him, but deep inside he was screaming, trying to get out. He hadn't been happier since the rangers had broken the spell and he worked on their side, fighting for good. He didn't deserve to have been accepted so greatly, but Kimberly's presence, her want for him to return to normal had been enough to convince the others that he should have a second chance.

And now here he was, dying in his school's classroom because of the evil green ranger.

The part of him that would never go away.

But he was the white ranger now and he was going to protect everyone around him to the best of his abilities.

Tommy brought up a hand and punched the green ranger in the throat and chest. The green ranger's grip around Tommy's neck immediately snapped open and the white ranger fell to the floor, gasping for air. He rolled to the side as the green ranger jumped forward and tried to strike down where his head had been. Tommy got back to his feet, falling into his fighting stance, bringing his fists up near his face, right by his chin. He lightly bounced back and forth on his feet as the green ranger slowly rose from the floor and turned to the white ranger with an expression of pure, cold evil.

"If it's a fight you want, its fight you got," Tommy said to him.

"It's morphin' time!" The white and green rangers said in unison.

"Tigerzord!"

"Dragonzord!"

The white and green rangers slowly circled each other waiting for the chance to strike. Around and around they went, until, finally, the green ranger struck. They two rangers mirrored each other's move. Each spin kick was met with a spin kick, each punch met with a punch.

Every time the rangers would collide there would be a spark of white and green energy between them. Nevertheless, the rangers appeared to be evenly matched. As both rangers were made from the same human, it was as if the green ranger could read the mind of the white ranger.

 _It's not that he can read it,_ Tommy reminded himself. _He's me. He knows everything I'm going to do because he's going to do the same thing._ He pulled out Saba and charged towards the green ranger. Bringing the sword up high over his head, the white ranger plunged down, but the green ranger brought up his arm and blocked the shot, knowing the white ranger off balance. He combined the move with a spin kick, knocking Saba out of the white ranger's hand, causing it to skid across the floor of the classroom.

"I want a good fight," the green ranger said firmly. He pulled out his dragon sword. "But not before destroying your city first."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Tommy raced forward and jumped high, like the green ranger had moments before, knocking the sword out of his hand. "You said you wanted a good fight, you're going to get a good fight." He started in on a barrage of attacks once more, mostly using a combination of punches and dodge as the green ranger anticipated and blocked each and every one of them.

Thinking quickly, Tommy positioned himself in front of the classroom door and waited for the green ranger to strike. And it worked out exactly how he had hoped it would. The green ranger turned and, with a running start, leapt towards the white ranger. Tommy ducked out of the way and the green ranger blasted through the door, spilling out into the hallway. Tommy quickly hurried through the doorway after the green ranger, racing off down the hallway. He had to find his friends and get to the Command Center.

Fast.

* * *

 

Bailey looked up from her feet, watching as her sister and their friends were brought through the doors of the cafeteria by the putties. She caught her sister's eye and gave her a small smile as they were directed her way, forced to the floor around them.

"You OK?" Avalon leaned over, arms still tied behind her back, and rested her head against her sister's in a comforting touch.

Bailey nodded back. "I'm fine," She replied. Her eyes moved around the group, watching as the putties closed the doors to the cafeteria, allowing Goldar and Scorpina through them first. "Where's Tommy?"

"We don't know," Kimberly replied. The pink ranger kept her eyes on the doors, as if waiting for Tommy to come bursting through them. "The putties got us out of the classroom before we could see what happened." She bowed her head. "I hope he's OK."

"I'm sure he's fine, Kim," Aisha said comfortingly. "Tommy can take care of himself. He'll be here, soon, to help us."

Bailey nodded, her mind drifting to the boy that was going to become her brother if the adoption went through. He hadn't turned her away or treated her like a nagging kid when they first met. He had even been the one that she had to go to when she got her period and since then he really had been nothing but a brother and a friend to her. He helped her on many occasions with her martial arts training, listened to her ideas when it came to rangering, and the two worked well together when they were using their zords in battle.

She wasn't going to sit back and hope he would come save them. The least she could do was find a way to get the rest of them free while Tommy tried to get to them. Her eyes moved around the cafeteria. Students and teachers alike huddled together, some crying, some looking around in fear. However, she couldn't help but notice that Ms. Appleby was one of the few that didn't appear to be worried.

Goldar must've noticed for he motioned to Scorpina and the golden monster sauntered over to the older woman and grabbed her by the hair. Despite her calm exterior, Ms. Appleby couldn't help but allow a shriek of pain to come from her mouth.

"Oh no," Rocky murmured. "They better not hurt her."

"You," Scorpina hissed, bringing her bone sword up to Ms. Appleby's neck. Bailey could feel Avalon stiffen next to her. "Why aren't you cowering in fear? We've just taken over your school and you don't seem to even care!"

Ms. Appleby looked at Scorpina defiantly and replied in a calm voice, "The power rangers will be here to help us, soon. I'm not worried because you will be stopped."

Scorpina made a 'tsk' sound and threw the teacher to the floor. She stood up straight and turned towards the rangers. Her lips pulled back, showing her teeth in a mixture of a smile and a snarl. She turned to Goldar and said something to him, gently stroking his arm, before the two walked over to the rangers.

"Get up!" She snarled at him. Before they had a chance to protest, the putties grabbed them and hauled them up to their feet.

Billy struggled against the putty that held onto him. "Where are you taking us?" He demanded.

"We have someone you might want to see," Scorpina said. Her smirk/snarl widened and she and Goldar motioned for the putties to lead them out of the cafeteria. The rangers were brought to another empty classroom and the door was locked behind them. The rangers were forced down into seats the putties brought over for them.

"I don't think there's anyone from you guys I want to see," Avalon murmured from Bailey's right. The purple ranger glanced t her sister and noticed that she was moving ever so slightly. Glancing back where the lens of her glasses ended, Bailey could make out the blurry image of her sister pulling something out of her back pocket and flip it around, moving it towards the ropes that held her hands together.

Facing forward once more, Bailey heard the sound of the door open behind them and something wheeling behind them. She tried to turn around to see but Scorpina stormed over to her, striking her on the side of the face. Bailey let out a gasp of pain as Goldar, behind her, growled.

"Leave her alone!" Adam snapped. "She hasn't done anything wrong." He shifted in his head, trying to wiggle his hands free. "What do you want with us?"

"Yeah," Rocky added "Why haven't you destroyed us already?"

"That's not what we were told do," Goldar ignored the rangers and spoke only to Scorpina, who had pulled out her sword and started to move it towards Bailey's neck. The purple ranger inched backwards as far as she could, immediately feeling pain in her neck when she moved too far.

"We can't have any fun while we're following orders?" Scorpina replied. Nonetheless, she backed away from the rangers and stood next to Goldar, sharpening her fingernails with the edge of her sword. "It's not like Rita and Zedd are going to be upset, the plan is going perfectly."

"Yes and we don't want you to screw it up," Goldar replied. He turned back to the ranger and pointed his sword at him. "Finally, rangers, we have you in our clutches. Now, hand over your Power Coins so we can destroy them."

"No way," Aisha replied, eyes narrowed in a harsh stare. "We're never giving up our Power Coins. Not when we have people like you to stop."

"I'm sure you'll change your mind once you see who we have in our clutches," Goldar said. He pointed with his sword behind the rangers and the squeaking sound increased as the putties behind the pushed a chair to the front of the room. They didn't turn the chair around until they reached the front of the room and when they did, Billy was the first to react.

"Mom," he gasped. Lacey struggled to speak behind the tape that had been placed over her mouth but nothing could be heard besides muffled words. The blue ranger's eyes narrowed and he started to struggle against his constraints. "Let her go!"

Scorpina laughed loudly.

"And why would we do that? Now that we have you in our clutches?" Goldar's eyes bored into the rangers. "We know the only thing that'll stop you is having your parents hostage. And we have all of them." He pointed the sword over towards Lacey, who flinched and tried to pull away. "Just to prove that we have them."

Bailey looked over at Avalon as she felt her sister nudge something into her hand. Her fingers quickly moving over it, she recognized it as a switchblade and had the sudden fleeting thought, wondering where she had gotten it when the two had brought all of her weapons back to their former apartment. Then the thought passed and she pressed the lever on the side of the hilt, like Avalon had taught her, and the blade sprang out. Slightly leaning away from the back of the chair so that she didn't accidentally stick herself in the back, she started to rub the blade against her ropes.

She could feel them loosening and worked harder to break through them.

"Now, hand over your Power Coins and we'll let them go," Scorpina said.

Billy chewed his lower lip as he watched his mother continue to struggle against her binds, voice continuing to be muffled behind the tape over her mouth. Goldar moved towards her, bringing the sword even closer. She flinched, backing away.

As much as he wanted to help his mother, he didn't know what to do and an exchange of glances with his friends proved they didn't know either. He looked particularly at Kimberly and she appeared just as confused, he could see in her eyes she was wondering what he would do if it were her mother in the monster's clutches. The last time the rangers had gone through this ordeal, after all of their parents had been kidnapped, they had quickly given up their Power Coins before it was revealed that Jason had held onto the Dragonzord Power Coin.

But this time there were no extra coins that they could hold onto if they gave theirs over. They didn't know what Tommy was currently doing or else they could hold off on his Coin as well. He was stuck. Turn over their coins with no backup plan so that he could save his mother, or continue to hold out their bluff. He didn't think Rita and Zedd would try the same plan twice, they always—in some ways—leaned from their past mistakes and came back stronger, even if they were always defeated.

There was a large part of him that didn't want to risk it and yet…

"You have until the count of three," Goldar continued, bringing the sword closer to Lacey.

Bailey, feeling her ropes loosening enough, quickly leaned forward, the movement snapping the ropes so that she could bring her arms in front of her. She turned and shoved her chair backwards, knocking over the putty that had been guarding her. It fell to the floor and the purple ranger quickly leapt over and placed a kick into the z-plate, causing it to break apart.

"No!" Scorpina screeched. "How'd she get out?"

"Stop her!" Goldar declared.

With a snarl, Scorpina leapt forward and threw her sword like a boomerang. Bailey ducked out of the way and threw the switchblade back to her sister, who called for it, before bringing her hands up and teleported out of the school and to the Command Center.

Alpha turned as she arrived behind him. "Bailey! I'm so glad you're here!" He hurried over and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Bailey laughed and hugged him back.

"I'm alright, Alpha," she said to him. "But we have to figure out what to do, yeah?" She brushed her hair behind her ear and turned to Zordon. "We don't know where Tommy is and Goldar and Scorpina have Billy's mother. They're demanding that we turn over our Power Coins or else our parents are going to be hurt."

"My sensors don't indicate that Rita and Zedd, in fact have your parents," Zordon said. Frowning, Bailey turned back towards the viewing globe and watched as an image of Mr. and Mrs. Oliver exited their vehicles at work before it switching over to an image of Mr. Cranston teaching his class. "But they do indicate that Rita's evil has been divulged upon the school along with Goldar and Scorpina."

"But that doesn't make any sense." Bailey looked over as Tommy teleported into the Command Center and took off his helmet. "Tommy!" She hurried over to her friend, throwing her arms around his waist in a hug. Tommy kneeled down and hugged her back.

"Hey Bailey," he said to her before looking around the Command Center. "No one else got away?" The purple ranger shook her head. "Zordon, what's going on? Why are Goldar and Scorpina and the putties in the school?" The white ranger listened as Zordon filled them in on everything that Bailey had just told him as well as what his sensors indicated. "You sense Rita's evil in the school?" Tommy rubbed his chin as he thought.

Bailey's mind whirred at a mile a minute. Rita being in school with Goldar and Scorpina…but the parents were at work like they were supposed to…and then they were demanded to turn over their Power Coins… _That's it!_ She thought, snapping her fingers.

"What is it, Bailey?" Alpha asked. "You have an idea?"

"A theory," Bailey remarked. "What if Rita is posing as Billy's mother? She was brought in as proof that our parents were taken and yet Zordon can only sense the putties, Goldar, and Scorpina down at the school. And what better way to catch us off guard, yeah? We can't morph in front of everyone and the evil green ranger is a way to try and destroy Tommy. If we can't morph in front of them, then they know that we'll do everything we can to keep our secret, but they know that we're going to do our best to help. So what was the thing that caused you to turn all of the Power Coins in before?"

"The parents," Tommy agreed. "Bay, you're a genius!" The purple ranger smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. The white ranger turned back to Zordon and Alpha. "What are we going o do? The green ranger is still down there and he's…he's exactly like me. I can't fight him off. He does every move I do."

"We'll send Bailey down to deal with the green ranger," Zordon said. The purple ranger's eyes widened. "He won't be able to anticipate what she'll throw at him. You need to go down and stop the rangers before they give over their Power Coins or worse."

Tommy shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Zordon. He's too strong."

"We may not have any other choice," Alpha reminded him. "We have to stop Rita from getting the Power Coins. It may be a distraction for the green ranger to execute a plan we don't know of. She'll have to go."

"I can do it," Bailey said firmly.

Tommy chuckled at her enthusiasm and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It must be my big brother instincts kicking in already," he said to her. Bailey's smile widened. "Alright, you deal with the green ranger and I'll get the others. Don't be afraid to call for help when you need it."

"You got it." Bailey grabbed her morpher. "It's morphin' time! Ankylosaurus!" She morphed and teleported out of the Command Center.

Tommy nodded at the empty space she left behind. "Back to action!"

* * *

 

He replaced his helmet and teleported out of the Command Center.

"No! Stop!"

Billy's throat burned raw with the effort of his screaming, watching as Scorpina continued to strike his mother over and over again in the head, face, and chest. Her screams were muffled behind the tape but it continued to instill fear in him he never knew he felt as each blow rained down. It was his worst fear. He had known he was putting his parents in danger the first time he took on the responsibility of being the blue ranger, especially as Rita and Zedd knew their identities.

He had hoped it would never get to that point and even when Goldar had started to count down when Bailey had teleported, there was a part of him that had hoped Goldar was just bluffing, that he wouldn't lay a hand on his mother. Each time Scorpina would smack her in the face, Billy felt as if he was the one being struck.

"Leave her alone," Rocky shouted. "She hasn't done anything to you."

Goldar held out his hand, moving closer to the rangers. "Hand over the Power Coins and we'll let her go."

Billy squeezed his eyes shut as Scorpina let out a victorious laugh and struck Lacey so hard that she and her chair both toppled over onto the floor. Her eyes squeezed shut as she writhed with pain and when she opened them again, she looked directly at Billy. Leaning forward in anguish, Billy strained his muscles, trying to break free.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Avalon's hands suddenly move out from behind her back like Bailey's had done then struck out against the putty behind her. She pulled out her morpher and started to call out, but Goldar quickly moved over to her and knocked her power morpher out of her hands before flinging her to the floor.

"Av!" Adam called over to her.

"I warned you, rangers!" Goldar roared.

"Goldar, Scorpina, that's enough. You've done what Rita's asked," a disembodied voice said. "Because of you we've managed to get the green ranger to follow his plans. He's destroying the city as we speak."

"No!" Kimberly shouted. "Tommy would never let that happen!"

There was a swirl of gold light and Diabolico appeared before them, his arms crossed over his chest. His red eyes flashed as he looked over at Scorpina, who had finally halted in her movements. "We have the rangers right where we want them, I think now is the time to let them know what's been going on."

Goldar scowled at the newer gold monster. "Our plan was to destroy the rangers."

"And what better way to destroy them by destroying their will to fight first?" Diabolico walked over to Lacey and upright her. She glared at him and he reached over, pulling the tape from her mouth before untying her. "I think we have something to show them."

"What's going on?" Rocky demanded.

Lacey got to her feet, rubbing her wrists and turned to Scorpina, glaring. "You nitwit!" She screeched, voice sounding just like Rita's. "You weren't supposed to hit me that hard! Just wait until I get my hands on you when this is all said and done!"

Scorpina, having the grace to appear embarrassed, bowed her head. "I'm sorry my mistress," she apologized. "It won't happen again."

"What'd you do?" Avalon growled, pushing herself up from the floor. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?"

Lacey turned back to the rangers and held out her hand. Rita's magic wand appeared in her hand and as she waved the staff over herself, her appearance changed from Billy's mother to that of the space witch they had been battling against for the past couple of years. She laughed evilly as the rangers gasped in shock.

" _I_ haven't done anything," Rita replied. Haughtily, she placed a hand flat against her chest before motioning to Diabolico with her wand. "That's a question you should be asking him."

"I have done nothing other than exercise my abilities," Diabolico said in his low, menacing voice. "Though now that we have you cornered and the rest of the plan going smoothly, I'll show you what'll happen to the rest of your families." He waved a hand and swirls of gold energy filled the room, collecting together and forming a figure that dropped to the ground.

Aisha let out a cry of shock, covering her face with her hands. Rocky and Adam immediately shielded her gaze from view. Kimberly reached out and grabbed onto Avalon, who clutched her back just as tightly, the two staring at the figure in front of them.

Billy suddenly felt he had just been punched in the stomach as he stared down at the prone figure of his mother.

His heart hammered against his chest as he looked down at her lifeless eyes. Fingers twitching, he reached out to touch her, but knew as his hands neared her body that she was cold. He was a scientist, and recognized the signs of a dead body, when rigor mortis set in and everything surrounding it. It was a way of life and he had always viewed it in scientific ways, even entertaining the idea that after his passing he would donate his body to science so further advancements could be made.

He felt himself starting to shake uncontrollably and suddenly a long, low sound of ear filled his ears. It took him a second to realize that it was him, screaming for his mother in despair.

Next thing he knew, everything had gone dark and he felt his body hit the floor.

He blacked out.


	45. Dust to Dust (3)

**Chapter 45**

_Dust to Dust_

* * *

 

"Billy!" Aisha cried, shaking his shoulder.

"Is he OK?" Rocky asked. He glanced around him at his friends, who were all kneeling by the blue ranger, looking down at him in concern.

Billy's eyebrows twitched, his head turning to the side. He let out a quiet moan before twisting his head back to its original position. His eyebrows fluttered a few more times before they slowly opened. He looked up towards the ceiling lights and shielded his face, turning his head away.

"Billy, you're OK," Kimberly said with a small smile. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "You really took a nasty fall there." She lowered her eyes. "Though…I think we can all understand why."

"What happened?" Rubbing the back of his head, Billy sat up, making sure his glasses were sitting in the correct position on his face. He then noticed that Tommy and Bailey were with him as well. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

Bailey let out a quiet sigh. "I went after the green ranger to fight him off and Tommy came here to help you guys with Rita, Goldar, Scorpina, and Diabolico." She looked over at Avalon, who took a moment before shock registered on her face and she lowered her head.

"Diabolico?" Adam repeated. He scratched the back of his neck. "That guy that…" he nodded over to the now empty spot on the floor. Bailey nodded back in reply.

"Long story short, Diabolico is a demon who is imprisoned in a city some hundreds of miles away," Bailey explained. "But the thing is that because he's a demon, he able to project his spirit anywhere he wants to and Rita used him to her advantage." She lowered her head, her voice trailing off. "And…he got to Billy's mother."

Billy's eyes moved from his friends and over to the now empty spot on the floor where his mother had been before he blacked out. It all came rushing back to him and he felt queasy despair rock his guts. He tried to think of it in a scientific way, creatures were supposed to die. Over one hundred people passed away every day. But none of them were his mother, the woman that had been by his side throughout his life and was someone he could turn to whenever he needed help on his homework or with things going on in life in general.

She and her father had been constant figures in his life and while he had known there was an exceptional risk to being a ranger, he never thought Rita would go so far to the point where she would actually murder one of their parents, or someone close to them, to be a way to destroy them. But this time from the inside out. He had never felt so much pain. In fact, it hurt so bad that everything was starting to numb.

He could barely feel himself left alone the floor he was sitting on or the friends that were holding onto him, trying to comfort him. He wasn't even sure if he wanted the comfort, to be honest. He just wanted to be alone, so he could at least try to wrap his head around the fact that he and his father were now—

His father.

Billy closed his eyes once more, turning his head away. He could feel the tears starting to gather in his eyes once more. Did his father already know about his mother? Diabolico had brought her body to the school obviously as a way to show him what he could do. What would his father say when he found out? What would happen? What about the funeral arrangements? Would they have an open casket or a closed one?

"When we were back home in Aus, Dad told us the story about Ryan and Dana," Avalon explained. She cleared her throat. "There was a car accident and the three of them were dangling over the side of a cliff. Ryan was going to fall and Diabolico appeared saying the only way he would save Ryan would be if he was able to hold him until he was twenty years old. Needless to say we all know that Dad's not great with making the best decisions." The orange ranger trailed off her story and glanced over at Tommy, who was looking at the blue ranger with the utmost concern. "What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know." Tommy looked around at the classroom where the monsters had been. After he had teleported into the classroom he started towards the monsters, but then they had disappeared, cackling. The psychological damage on the rangers had been done and the next portion of their plan wasn't going to be handled until later. He had then demorphed and hurried over to his friends, waiting for Billy to wake up, alternatively calling his name. "But we should get out of here. The school is being evacuated anyway, now that the putties are gone."

"Yeah, let's go." Avalon reached out and grabbed onto Billy's arm and with Rocky's help, pulled him to his feet. "Smurf, are you OK?" Numbly, he nodded, allowing himself to be turned out of the room and walked out of the classroom. The rangers followed the steady stream for students leaving the school. They went to the parking lot and split up, going to their respective cars so that they could drive home.

"What are we going to do now?" Adam asked. "If they can do this…how do we know that they don't have the rest of our parents. We have to give over our Power Coins."

"No," Tommy said firmly. "Rita and Zedd always do things to make sure we get the message before they do something. If they had all of our parents, they would've done the same thing to more than…" he trailed off. "What we need to do is regroup and figure out what to do next. With the green ranger running around, it's only a matter of time until we have to do something to an extent we never thought about."

"What do you mean?" Aisha whimpered.

Tommy didn't respond to her question. "Don't worry about it. Right now, we need to go home. I'll call you all later."

"See you, man," Rocky said. He reached out a hand and Tommy grabbed it, the two doing a man hug. "Let me know if you need help with anything."

"Right, man, thanks."

Tommy gave each of his friends a hug and watched as Billy, Avalon, and Bailey walked over to Billy's car. The orange ranger took the car keys from the blue ranger and climbed into the driver's seat as Billy got into the passenger seat and Bailey climbed into the back. He waved at them, watching as Avalon pulled out of the parking lot and headed back in the direction of the Cranston house. He then watched as Rocky, Adam, and Aisha got into Rocky's truck and drove out of the parking lot as well.

When he and Kimberly were finally alone, Tommy's shoulders slumped, having held up the weight of the world. He turned to the pink ranger and he saw that she was seconds away from breaking down as he was. At the small smile that Kimberly managed to produce, Tommy broke down and reached out, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend, holding onto her tightly as she sobbed against his chest.

It was all he could do to keep himself from crying as well.

* * *

 

"I understand that you wanted to psychologically damage the rangers beyond all control," Zedd said as he watched Rita pace back and forth across the balcony of the Lunar Palace, humming to himself. "But why did you want to go after the blue ranger? The white or pink rangers would have been a better way to go. Having the white ranger _and_ green ranger on our side would have made us formidable foes. " He stood up, holding tightly not his Z-scepter. "And the pink ranger…if we have the control of the pterodactyl zord, we could attack Angel Grove at higher speeds and with a great velocity."

"Zeddy, you're not thinking about the big picture," Rita chided him. "The blue ranger is the best bet to have for an evil ranger on our side. He's strong, but more importantly, he's smart. Smarter than some of the geniuses that they have down on Earth. Not only would he be a great asset to our team, but think of the inventions and plans he could come up with for us. Take away his morals and everything he loves and when we turn him evil, he'll be putty in our hands."

She then laughed at her joke as Zedd shook his head. Though he had to admit she did have a point. Billy was the smartest of the rangers and if all of his morals were taken away, what sort of things would he do? He'd probably be the ultimate mastermind that could take over the world in a matter of seconds. She was right, the blue ranger was the way to go.

"And while he's under the grief of his mother, it'll be the time where he's the most vulnerable," Rita continued as she calmed down from her laughter. "We wait for him and the rangers to be alone, and then turn him to the dark side. That way he'll be able to outsmart the other ranger and destroy him for us. Then we can destroy the blue ranger!"

"My dear that is the best plan I've heard from your motor mouth in a long time," Zedd declared. He threw his scepter up into the air and laughed along with his wife. "Now, for the transformation." He held out his scepter and Rita held out her wand, doing the same.

The two magical items came together and created an eerie glow that fluctuated between red and green. They combined into a bright white bolt of energy that shot down towards Earth. Rita smiled, showing all of her teeth as she watched the light disappear.

She didn't need to go to the telescope to see their handiwork. Their plan was going _exactly_ the way they had planned it and within the next few days they were going to have taken over the Earth.

* * *

 

Billy glanced over at the orange and purple rangers in irritation as they shoved a tray of food into his hands. All he had done was open the door to his room after they had knocked on it for ten minutes straight, and then he had it shoved into his hands. He cast a dismissive glance at the food before placing it on top of the dresser by the door.

Bailey sighed. "C'mon, Billy, you have to eat _something_."

"I'm fine." He crossed back to his desk and sat down, leaning towards his backpack that was open, books and papers sticking out of the top. "I have a lot of stuff to do anyway."

"Like?" Avalon crossed her arms over her chest. She watched him continue to put his belongings into his backpack and walked over, grabbing it from him. "What do you think you're doing, mate?"

"Packing for school." Standing up, he held his hand out for the bag. "Do you mind?"

Avalon and Bailey exchanged glances. Going to school? It had only been a few days since his mother had passed and he was going to go back to school? It was hard when David had gotten back to the house that day, shortly after the school had been put on a mandatory lockdown due to the investigation. He had raced home and spotted the three teenagers, demanding if they had heard anything from his wife. Billy, who had received the phone call from Bulk and Skull about it, had been the one to tell him that what happened. Of course he hadn't told his father that Diabolico had been the one to kill her. In fact, he wasn't sure how they were going to spin it in any way, but the damage had been done. David immediately collapsed, all of his worst fears coming true in that moment.

The two had collapsed against each other, sobbing and holding onto each other as hard as they could. Avalon and Bailey sat on the outside of the two, letting them have time to themselves. In a way, they understood how it felt, having figuratively lost most of their family in the past couple of years. But at the same time they felt it too. Lacey was someone that had become a mother figure to the two of them as they had been staying at the Cranstons, quickly trying to make them feel at home. She was really someone that had kept them all together, creating a loving family for all of them and now she was just…gone.

The past couple of days had been hard, there were people constantly calling the house, visiting, expressing their condolences. Then there was the media coverage, not only had a woman who was clearly healthy pass away, but it was during the time there was a monster attack on the high school, much like there had been the attack earlier. They were using her name as a sort of face for the campaign to create better evacuation plans for the city. Her face being everywhere was the worst part of it.

"Yes, I mind." The orange ranger pulled the backpack further away from him. "Smurf, you just lost your mum," she said calmly, patiently. "And we understand that it's hard, but acting like it didn't happen and continuing to go to school isn't going to help in the long run."

"Avalon!" Billy reached out and painfully grabbed onto her wrists. As the seconds passed, he increased the pressure on her arms. Bailey's eyes widened in surprise and Avalon looked up at her best friend in surprise rather than shock or pain. "Let go of my fucking bag!"

"…Here." Hands shaking, Avalon handed him his backpack and moved out of his way as he stormed from the room. Rubbing her wrist, she turned to Bailey, who looked back at her, eyes still wide open and mouth dropped open. And yet the young girl that was just as smart as Billy was, couldn't find a word that would effectively describe what had just happened. Avalon scowled after him as he left his room before her face turned apathetic.

If he wanted to push people away, it was his business not hers.

His attitude had worsened by the time they had gotten to school that day. He had subtly insulted Kimberly's outfit as well as her constant need to go shopping, he had insulted Tommy for being forgetful, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha for not being as strong rangers as Jason, Zack, and Trini, and had alienated everyone that came his way that day to offer their condolences. Ms. Appleby had been so appalled by his lack of wanting to participate in class, even going as far as to imply that she was a bad teacher because he found everything to be so juvenile that she sent him to Mr. Caplan's office for a lunch detention.

"I'm telling you guys, something's wrong with Billy," Kimberly said, crossing her legs. "I know that people grieve in their own ways but even when his pet fish died he didn't get like this."

"Yeah, but his mother was killed by one of the monsters that's working with Rita," Aisha pointed out. "If this were any of us, we'd probably be acting the same way." She rested her chin in her hand. "Though I have to admit it really hurt what he said about me, Rocky, and Adam." She looked over at the red and black rangers who nodded in agreement. "I mean, we're trying to really hard to be the best rangers we can be."

"And you're doing a good job," Tommy reassured her. Finishing the food on his plate he sighed, pushing back his seat so he could stretch out his legs. "Honestly, we did have some reservations when you guys first joined because it seemed like all you cared about was the weapons and the glory that went with it."

"We did," Rocky admitted. He cried out as Aisha elbowed him on the arm. "Well, _I_ did, anyway." He trailed off, twiddling his thumbs. "But we quickly learned how important all of it was and Aisha is right. We're doing our best."

"We understand how important it is all is," Adam agreed. "And we also understand how much of a risk we're putting ourselves in now," he continued. "What with what happened to Billy's mother."

"There has to be something we can do for him," Kimberly continued.

"I don't know." Avalon shrugged. "Giving him a quick kick in the ass sounds good to me, yeah?" She continued to stir the spaghetti that was on her tray though wasn't eating anything. Her voice was dull and she wasn't paying much attention to the conversation going on around her.

"Av, are you OK?" Tommy asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder. The orange ranger nodded and took a quick bite of her food before pushing her own tray away from her. "Anyway, I think the only thing we can do now is just support him the best we can. We can't tell him what to do and we can't tell him how to feel. The only thing we can do is let him know we'll be there for him and…figure out how to stop Rita and Zedd this time."

"Realistically speaking, Tommy, we don't even know what they're up to. Other than trying to take over the world, I mean," Adam pointed out.

"But with the green ranger being out there, we have to be ready," Kimberly said.

"How strong is this guy anyway?" Aisha asked quietly.

Tommy chewed his lower lip. "Take from me, Aisha, he's really bad. And teaming with Scorpina and Goldar is just going to make it worse."

"Then maybe we need some time to sit together and figure out some battle plans," Rocky suggested. He reached out and placed his fists on the table. "Something that'll work so that we can figure out the best way to defeat them." He looked over at Adam. "And help Sabrina, too."

The black ranger nodded, giving a small smile.

The rangers continued eating their lunch, conversation down to a minimum. When the bell rang they cleared their tables and started towards their classes. Tommy glanced down at Kimberly's tray and frowned when he noticed how full it still was. "Are you not hungry?" He asked her.

Startled, Kimberly looked up at him with wide eyes before she relaxed, looking down at her own tray. "Mom made a really big breakfast this morning," she explained, putting her tray on the return cart. "I'm still full from it." She rubbed her hands together. "Things are still sort of weird between us," she admitted. "I mean, when I got home and she heard about Billy's mom…we hugged for a long time, but there's still that tension between us and I'm afraid it's going to come out or something."

"That's normal when it comes to things like this." The white ranger reached down and grabbed onto her hand. "Besides, maybe it's something you _should_ get out. The more you two ignore it the worse it's going to be when you guys actually do talk about it."

"I know," the pink ranger agreed. She leaned into Tommy's side. "But we have more important things to think about right now. We have to find out how to stop Rita and Zedd this time and with the green ranger…it's a lot at once. But we can do it."

Tommy leaned over and kissed the top of her head and the two, Avalon, and Adam went off to their art class. Once stepping into the room, the rangers noted that Billy was already in his seat, twisting and turning something in his hand. Tommy looked over at Avalon when he heard the sound of the orange ranger scoff. He watched as she walked over to the cubby that held her sketchbook and took it out, along with colored pencils, and walked over to an empty table at the far side of the room. He glanced down at Kimberly, who patted him on the arm.

"I'll figure it out," she said dutifully and picked up her easel and paints and went over to the table that the orange ranger had gone over to.

Adam and Tommy went to their normal table with their projects, sitting around Billy. He barely glanced at them before focusing on his project once more. Tommy smiled and sat down on the stool next to Billy. "Hey man," he greeted the blue ranger. "Watcha got there?"

"It's a hologram," he replied, twisting the disk back and forth. "The image changes depending on the angle that you're looking at it." He bobbed his head. "Not that I'd expect you to understand it, so I'm not going to give you the full explanation of how it works."

Stung, Tommy glanced over at the black ranger, who shrugged. Tommy did his best not to let it get to him, there were many times he tried to have Billy teach him what they were going over in their classes and it always went over his head. He was sure at many times the blue ranger was very frustrated that he wasn't grasping the concept as quickly as he wanted.

"Do you mind if I check it out?" Tommy reached for the object and, rolling his eyes, Billy handed it over. He looked over the hologram and turned it back and forth, smiling in excitement when he spotted the image of the beach that projected in front of him. "Wow, that's so cool." He passed it over to Adam, who looked at it as well.

"You'll definitely be getting an 'A' for this one," the black ranger agreed.

"Unless Ms. Span doesn't count the advancements in technology to create projected images, I'm inclined to agree with you," Billy said, taking the hologram back. He continued to twist it back and forth a few times before replacing it on the table and picking up a pair of tweezers to get back to work.

Tommy sighed, shaking his head. _There has to be something we can do for him._

Across the room, the pink ranger turned from her easel, dipping her paintbrush into a cup of water to clear off the pain before choosing another color to use. She looked over at the orange ranger, who sat over her sketchbook, chin in right hand and shading a portion of her project with her left. Kimberly started to turn away then stopped, noticing the bruises that were on the orange ranger's wrist.

"Av, what happened?" She asked.

Avalon looked down and quickly brought her arms down to her lap. "Nothing."

"That's not nothing! Those are bruises."

"Thanks for alerting me, I just thought I put my eye shadow on in the wrong spot."

Kimberly sucked in a deep breath, turning to face her. She lowered her voice despite them being far away from their classmates. "Did you run into the High Flyers? Did they do something to you?"

Avalon rolled her eyes before bringing her hands up to her face and running her fingertips down the skin. "No, it doesn't have to do with the High Flyers," she said under her breath. "It doesn't have to do with Chase or any of The Vipers." She blew her hair out of her face. "I was just telling Billy that it wasn't a good idea for him to go to school today and he got mad at me."

Eyes flying wide open, the pink ranger whirled around in her seat to look at the blue ranger who was toying with his project. And as always, he was unaware of Violet's staring at him as she worked on her own sculpture. "Billy did that to you?"

"I mean,"—Avalon continued as if she hadn't heard Kim—"you try to bring someone breakfast, you try to be nice when they're going through a hard time and all I get is a pissed off blue ranger. Geez, you think the boofhead would've at least acknowledged that I'm trying to help."

Kimberly's eyes widened even further as she brought a hand up to her mouth. "Oh my gosh," she said.

"Oh my gosh, what?" Avalon repeated.

"You like Billy." Avalon's cheek twitched and she took a breath before opening her mouth but the pink ranger beat her to it. "Don't even try to deny it, it makes a lot of sense. Oh, you two would make such a cute couple, too." Kimberly pushed her hair behind her ear and looked over at the boys, noticing they were looking over something that Billy had created as he stood off to the side, somewhat detached. It had even attracted the attention of Violet, who had moved closer to the table so that she could get a look as well. "I wonder what's going on?"

Before the orange ranger could protest, Kimberly grabbed her—gently—by the arm and pulled her over towards the group. "Hey, what's going on, guys?"

"Check out Billy's project," Adam said, handing it over to her.

"It's a hologram," Violet added in her quiet voice. She smiled, clasping her hands together behind her back, gently rocking her back and forth. "There's a picture of the beach in it whenever you turn it a certain way." She smiled over at Billy. "It's really cool."

"Awesome!" Kimberly admired the hologram and tried to hand it over to Avalon, who pushed it away from her, slightly shaking her head. Handing the disk back over to Billy, Kimberly turned to Violet when she spoke up again.

"Does anyone want to see my project?" She asked timidly.

"Whatever." Billy shrugged, placing his project back onto the table before shoving his hands into his pockets and turning to follow her.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Billy," Violet said, stopping by the sheet that covered his sculpture. "But I hope this will make you feel better." The rangers moved along behind them and watched as Violet unveiled her sculpture of Billy dressed in a power ranger's uniform. His eyes widened as the rangers behind him started to snicker, hoping to hide it the best they could.

"Wow…that's…um…that's something," Billy finally managed to say.

"I made it because…I think you have the qualities of what a power ranger should be, Billy," Violet said. She tilted her head to the side as she examined it. "I know they didn't help us when those monsters were attacking the school earlier this week, but if they could've been here they would've helped…"

She sighed quietly.

Avalon mimed sticking her finger down her throat and Kimberly elbowed her in the side before running her hand through her hair, blowing out a heavy breath. She still felt terrible not being able to help her classmates and the other students of Angel Grove High when Goldar and Rita had infiltrated. But they couldn't risk revealing their secret to anyone. Not only that, but they couldn't risk a wayward attack that would strike and kill another person. The one casualty was enough to keep them from making any hasty decisions. Besides, if Rita and her minions hadn't left when they did, who knows what would've happened to the rest of their parents.

Violet cleared her throat and started to pull at her hair. She looked at Billy and took a deep breath. "Um, do you think you'd like to go see a movie with me sometime?" She asked him. "Or maybe we could go to the juice bar or something."

Billy's eyebrow cocked upwards as he turned away from her. "Yeah, whatever," he replied and went over to his seat, burying himself in his work once more.

The rangers went back to their tables to finish their work. "For the record," Avalon said to Kimberly. "I would've done the exact same thing to you if you said that about Tommo."

Kimberly laughed.

* * *

 

"Now's the time!" Rita cried, backing away from her telescope. "This is it! This is the time we've been waiting for! The rangers are going to taste defeat. Then we take over the Command Center and destroy Zordon once and for all!"

"Yes, my dearest," Zedd agreed. "I'll send Goldar down now. The rangers will have even more to deal with once they realized that we have the blue ranger under our control. With the green _and_ blue rangers going against them, they don't stand a chance." He turned to the gold monster that was always by his side. "Goldar! Send down a set of putties and the green ranger. Keep an eye on them. We'll send backup when the time comes."

"You got it, boss!" Goldar cried.

He, the green ranger, and the putties teleported down to the park where the rangers were passing through on their way home. He pointed the sword towards the rangers as they immediately reacted to his appearance. "Are you ready to be destroyed, rangers?"

"We'll just see about that, Goldar," Tommy called back. "We're not going down without a fight."

"I bet you'll be singing a different tune once you realize who's on our side," Goldar continued. He turned to address Billy directly. "Come to me, Blue Ranger! Come join us!" As he raised his sword into the air, Billy let out a scream, bringing his hands up to his head. He pressed his palms against the side of his head, bending over as the pain of evil energy raced through his body.

"I knew something was wrong," Kimberly cried. "Rita and Zedd turned him evil, I knew it."

Goldar grinned. "And all it took to get you rangers on our good side was just by eliminating the things that are the closest to you."

Rocky glared at the golden monster. " _You_ killed Billy's mother just to turn him evil?" He growled, pointing over at Goldar. "You're going to pay for that one. Once you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

"I'd love to see you try," Goldar replied.

"Well, you asked for it," Tommy declared. "It's morphin' time! Tigerzord!"

"Stegosaurus!"

"Mastodon!"

"Pterodactyl!"

"Sabertooth Tiger!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

The rangers morphed and charged towards Goldar, getting stopped by the wave of putties that Goldar sent up to barricade himself. As the rangers were distracted he moved over to Billy, who had then fallen to his knees and continued to hold his head. He watched as the ranger continued to writhe around, trying to fend off the evil magic that Rita and Zedd had placed upon him. But Goldar knew it was no use; the moment the evil energy from the combined monsters had struck him, he was under their spell until they found a way to break it and that was nearly impossible.

"Give it up, Blue Ranger," Goldar growled. "You belong to us now." He reached out and grabbed onto his shoulder. As he spoke, he watched Billy slowly lower his hands from his head, his eyes turning a bright red. "Yes. Now, go attack the rangers!"

"Yes, Goldar," Billy said. He pulled out his morpher. "It's morphin' time! Triceratops!" He morphed into the blue ranger and raced off into battle amongst his friends as they defeated the putties. "Power Lance!" He summoned his power weapon and first struck Adam, as he was the closest one to him, sending him spiraling to the ground. He then spun around and struck Kimberly, who had turned towards him, in the chest, knocking her backwards.

"Kim!" Aisha called. She and Avalon turned and raced towards the blue ranger. They jumped high into the air and aimed kicks at him, but Billy spun the Power Lance around and pushed them off him before spinning the double-ended weapon, striking them in the chests and knocking them back to the ground.

"Billy." Tommy and Rocky got into the blue ranger's way but didn't draw their weapons. Tommy took a step forward, holding out his hands. "Billy, we don't want to hurt you, we just want to help you."

"Speaking of help," Goldar crowed. "I have another present for you."

A flash appeared at his side and the evil green ranger appeared, immediately charging towards Tommy, knocking him out of the way. This gave Billy enough time to strike Rocky with the Power Lance, knocking him down as well.

Tommy and the Green Ranger traded blows back and forth as they had done when they were fighting in the school. Every hit that came their way they managed to block before they could do significant damage. A punch was met with a punch, a kick with a kick, and the two continued to shuffle around each other as they waited for the other to make the next move.

"Give it up, white ranger, you're not going to defeat Rita and Zedd this time," The Green Ranger said. He moved forward and grabbed him around the neck, much like he did when they were fighting in the classroom. This time, the green ranger wasn't holding back and squeezed Tommy's neck hard enough that the white ranger started to gasp for air, hands frantically scratching the back of his glove covered hand.

Tommy's eyes shifted over to his friends as they continued to try and defend themselves against the blue ranger. He could breathe, the edges of his vision were starting to darken. They wouldn't be able to hear him if he tried to call for help. The green ranger reached up with his other hand and placed it around his neck, squeezing even tighter. Tommy gasped, vision darkening even further.

He could feel his Adam's apple getting pressed upon so hard that he ability to swallow was starting to get cut off. His hands fell from the green ranger's wrists and fell loosely to his sides. His vision was almost completely dark now; any second longer and he would pass out, leaving his friends weaker.

"Ankylo Charger!" The grip around his neck and Tommy fell to the ground. He looked up to see Bailey land next to him, holding onto her smoking canon. It disappeared in a flash and she stood up, clenching her hands into fists. "Are you OK, Tommy?"

Coughing, the white ranger raised himself to his knees, nodding. "Yeah, you got perfect timing."

"After having my chance to face off against him last time, I didn't want to miss it this time, yeah?" Bailey said. She leapt forward and struck the green ranger on the side of the head with a roundhouse kick then backed away a few paces. "Do you want to help me?"

"I'd be glad to," Tommy said, getting into a crouched position.

"Not so fast, rangers," The green ranger said. He whipped out the dragon dagger from its holster. "I have one more trick up his sleeve." Tommy and Bailey started towards the green ranger and were fended off by a vicious blow to the stomach, knocking them back onto the ground. "I think you'll remember my little friend." He brought the dagger up to his mouth and blew the tune that Tommy had become so familiar with.

"Oh no!" Bailey gasped. "He's summoning the Dragonzord! It's going to destroy the city!"

"Yes!' Goldar shouted. "And now there's nothing you can do to stop us!" He disappeared in a rush of flames, leaving the rangers left with the blue and green rangers to fight against.

The two groups fought as hard as they could against the blue and green rangers but they proved to be even stronger that they could ever imagine. The green ranger was strong in a physical sense, using an offensive stance to fend off the purple and white rangers with ease. The blue ranger fought more with strategic moves, showing that Billy was still inside somewhere. He easily evaded the attacks that the pink, orange, yellow, red, and black rangers sent his way, fending them off with his power lance.

"Power Bow!" Kimberly summoned her power weapon and pulled back the string as hard as she could. She let go of arrow and it went flying towards the blue ranger.

"Nice try!" Billy knocked the arrow out of the way with a quick swing of his lance. "But you're going to have to do better than that."

"Like this?" Avalon popped up behind him and sent a roundhouse kicked to the back of his head. He fell to the ground and started to swing his lance around. "Power Staff!" Avalon summonsed her power weapon and quickly brought it up, fending off his blow. The two continued to fight, swinging their weapons around to block each other as Billy turned back towards the other rangers and fended them off in between the fight.

Then he turned back to Avalon and swept her legs out from underneath her and brought his lance down towards her neck. Avalon brought up her power staff and blocked his attack, arms shaking with effort as she tried to keep the attack away from her.

"Give up," Billy snarled. "You rangers are going to be destroyed."

"Fuck that," Avalon grunted, doing her best to keep her best friend from succeeding in his attack. "We're not going to let Rita and Zedd get away with what they did to you."

* * *

 

"Ay yi yi!" Alpha cried. "Zordon, I don't think they can last much longer!"

"I know, Alpha," Zordon agreed "Now is the time to reveal their new weapons. Send them down to the rangers now! We can't let Rita, Zedd, and the Dragonzord destroy the city."

"Right away, Zordon!" Alpha hurried over to a control panel and started to press a series of buttons. "Sending the arsenal down right now." He turned back to the viewing globe, pressing his fingertips together. "Oh, I hope this works."

* * *

 

 _"Rangers, we have some new weapons for you,"_ Alpha's voice came through their helmets. " _We hope it'll aid you in the fight against Rita and Zedd. Kimberly, we also have a special arrow that has taken some of the energy from the Azurite Healiodore, use it to return Billy to normal."_

"Right." Kimberly held out her hands and a whip and a glowing arrow appeared in her hands. "Thanks, Alpha." She placed the arrow in the holster of her blade blaster and held onto the small cartridge that held her whip. "Pterodactyl Thunder Whip!" She unleashed the whip, using all of her arm strength to throw it forward. The whip wrapped around Billy's arms, pulling him backwards.

"Tyrano Cannon!" Rocky pulled out his blaster which resembled the shape of the head of a tyrannosaurs with its mouth wide open. The barrel of a canon resided on the inside and show out a blast of energy that caught Billy in a direct hit.

"Saber Tooth Tessen!" Aisha held up a giant iron fan that held the image of a saber tooth tiger. Sharp blades poked out the ends of the folds of the fan. She flapped it open and closed and threw it as hard as she could. It formed a saw-like disk and buzzed towards Billy, striking him as well.

"Mastodon Mace!" Adam held up his new weapon. The center figure of the mace was that resembling the weapon of medieval times while the edges were created from the horns of a Mastodon. He charged towards Billy. Avalon wiggled out of Billy's grasp and held out her hands for her weapon.

"Stega Shield!" A large, plated shield appeared in Avalon's hands and she crouched down behind it as Adam jumped high in the air. Using her shield as a springboard, she launched him towards Billy and he struck the blue ranger across the chest.

"Now it's my turn!" Kimberly unleashed Billy from the thunder whip and summoned her Power Bow once more. "I hope I don't miss." She strung her bow with the glowing arrow and pulled back on the bow so hard her hands started to shake. She let go and the arrow flew forward and struck Billy directly in the chest.

He cried out as the power of the Healiodore ran through his body, expelling the evil energy that Rita and Zedd had placed inside his body. He fell to his knees, holding onto the sides of his helmet as the glow continue to increase in luminosity.

"I think we did it," Adam said. The rangers shielded their eyes from the glow until it dissipated.

Billy shook his head, looking down at his hands. What had he done? Through the day, he tried hard to get the evil energy out of him. He could feel it coursing through his veins, feeding on the darkness that was inside him as he grieved for his mother. He was aware of everything he had said and done to everyone around him that day and couldn't stop himself. Fighting against them was the hardest part, he tried to regain control of his body and found that he couldn't stop himself. Each blow he made towards his friends hurt more than getting hit by them in defense.

He couldn't look at them as he finally felt the evil powers leave his body. They couldn't want to still be his friends, to still trust him after all of that. When he couldn't open up to them after his mother had passed. In fact, the idea of even going to the funeral scared him more than anything else, so after telling his father what happened to his mother he shut himself in his room. He ignored the phone calls, knocks at the door, friends visiting and sat by himself, stewing in the emotions he had never felt before.

"Billy." Kimberly knelt down by his side, grabbing onto his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

He looked up at her and despite not being able to see into her helmet, he knew she was giving him that look that only Kimberly could perfect. That sweet look that showed she held no hard feeling against him and that comforted him more than he thought it would.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm fine."

"Good, because we could use some help getting rid of that green ranger," she said. Billy nodded and got to his feet.

That was the last time he was going to have Rita and Zedd use him and he was going to make sure they knew that they wouldn't get one over on him again. He held out his hands and his new weapon, the Stega Stinger, appeared in his hands. Taking a cue from Kimberly, the pointed the weapon towards the green ranger. "Stega Stinger!" A rope shot out and wrapped around the green ranger, who struggled violently.

"Ankylo Sickle!" A chain sickle appeared in Bailey's hands, covered in spikes. She threw it towards the green ranger and it struck him, spinning him around then pulled back on the chain, striking him once more.

"White Tiger Wind Wheel!" Tommy's weapons, bladed metal rings appeared in his hands and he threw it towards the green ranger, striking him and catching them when they circled back to him. "Let's finish him off! Prepare to receive power canon." The rangers all held out their hands and the power cannon appeared on their shoulders. "Brace. Lock and Load." Holding out their free hands, a colorful ball appeared in each of the ranger's hands.

"Pink charge!" Kimberly placed her ball into the chamber.

"Yellow charge."

"White charge."

"Red charge."

"Blue charge."

"Black charge."

"Purple charge."

"Orange charge."

The rangers held the power cannon once more and Billy and Rocky pushed the plunger at the back of the cannon into position. "Fire!" Tommy called and pulled the trigger. The rangers stumbled backwards at the force of the cannon going off, sending the eight balls forward in a charged blast towards the green ranger.

The evil green ranger screamed in rage as he received the full blast. He fell to the ground and exploded in a bright blast of light. The ranger's celebration was short lived as the ground started to shake around them and they heard the sound of a loud dinosaurs roar. They whirled around to see the DragonZord still converging upon the city.

"The Dragonzord is out of control!" Tommy cried.

"We have to stop it before it destroyed the city," Bailey said. "I don't think the residents of Angel Grove can take much more right now."

"Then we better get going," Rocky agreed. He thrust his hand into the air. "We need Thunderzord power now!"

"Stegosaurus, Phoenix ,Thunderzord Power!"

"Mastodon, Lion, Thunderzord Power!"

"Pterodactyl, Firebird, Thunderzord Power!"

"Triceratops, Unicorn, Thunderzord Power!"

"Sabertooth Tiger, Gryphon, Thunderzord Power!"

"Tyrannosaurus, Red Dragon, Thunderzord Power!"

"Tigerzord, Power Up!"

"Ankylosaurus!" After summoning her zord, Bailey leapt up into the cockpit of her Ankylosaurus zord. "Bailey here, I'm ready to roll!"

The zords came together to create the Thunder Megazord and the Tiger Thunder Zord with Bailey's Ankylosaurus zord being used as an attachment as a sword. Rocky piloting the Thundermegazord and Tommy piloting the Tigerzord, they machines raced forward to fend off the DragonZord. It turned at the sound of the rangers approaching and immediately flew into battle with the two zords. Much like when Tommy was fighting the green ranger, there wasn't much leeway with trying to destroy the Dragonzord. No matter how the rangers tried to converge upon it, it would either come back with a close-up attack o else use its tail to swing around and strike the other zord in the chest.

"Thunder Mega Staff!" The six rangers cried, and the zord achieved the large staff. It swirled with energy and struck the Dragonzord, knocking it backwards.

"Ankylo Strike!" Tommy and Bailey called in unison. Her zord started to spin around and Tommy thrust it forward to slash into the front of the Dragonzord, knocking it on its side.

"Alright guys, I think it's time that we use something a bit stronger," Billy declared. "Initiating Mega Tigerzord sequence." The Thundermegazord and the White Tiger Zord then combined to form one large zord with the rangers all in one cockpit. "You can do this, Tommy."

"Right." Clenching his hand into a fist, Tommy nodded. "Alright, rangers, that's take this thing," He grabbed onto the controls. "On three. One…two…three…"

"White Tiger Thunder Bolt!" The rangers cried in unison. The Mega Tigerzord shot a bolt of electricity towards Kimberly's firebird zord that made up the wrist of the zord. It screeched and shot off the wrist and directly towards the Dragonzord, igniting in a ball of flames. The zord crashed into the Dragonzord and came back to the Mega Tigerzord amongst the explosion of Tommy's former zord.

It was over.

* * *

 

"Congratulations, rangers," Zordon said to the group of teenagers that stood before him in their street clothes. "Not only have you defeated the evil green ranger and the dragon zord, but you have released Billy from the clutches of evil and have foiled yet another one of her plans."

"Hey, if it weren't for your guys' help and the new weapons, we might not have won," Bailey pointed out. "Thank _you_."

"Yeah," Billy said. He turned to his friends. "And…I'm sorry for the way I've been acting," he apologized.

"Hey, you were under Rita's spell," Kimberly reminded him. "It would've made any of us act crazy." She pointed over to Tommy. "Just ask this one." He gave her a playful shove on the shoulder, causing Billy to chuckle and the others to smile.

"No, I mean…" Billy took a deep breath. "With everything that's been going on. I…I still haven't really had time to think about it. Rita's and Zedd's evil really only had me act upon the things that I've been feeling and that's not an excuse. It's…it's going to be hard for me and my Dad to get through this and I want to thank you all for being there for me. No matter what."

"Of course, man," Adam replied. "Throughout everything you've been there for us."

"It's only fair that we return the favor," Rocky added.

"We're your friends," Aisha added. "We can't leave you hanging in a time like this."

"I know, but it makes me feel better to apologize," Billy said. He looked over at Avalon and nodded at her. "I'm sorry."

Avalon's eyebrows twitched for a moment as she subconsciously rubbed her wrists. Then she blew her hair out of her face and placed her hands on her hips. "You gave me a lot of chances…chances I didn't deserve when I was still with the Vipers, proving myself that I wanted to be a ranger. It's going to take a lot more than that to get me to stop being your best friend."

Billy smiled and nodded.

"Rangers, you should be proud of yourselves and all that you've managed to accomplish," Alpha said to the rangers. "Go home, get some rest." He then started to wag his finger at them. "And I don't want to see you until we call you back here, alright?"

"Well, I may need to look over the capabilities of our new weapons," Billy said with a light laugh. But the light didn't reach his eyes. When he went back, he had to go back to his new reality.

But at least his had his friends by his side.


	46. Rememberance (4)

**Chapter 46**

_Remembrance_

"Trini!"

The former yellow ranger turned at the sound of her name being called and smiled when she spotted Jason and Zack heading her way. She quickly waved to them before turning back and picking up her bag from the conveyer belt. She struggled to swing it to the floor, nearly clipping the black ranger in the knee as she swung the bag around.

Jason laughed. "Good to see that you still have good fighting reflexes, Trini," he said then placed his hand on Zack's shoulder. "She almost took out your knee cap, bro."

"I know, and that would've put a quick end to my dancing career." Zack placed his hands on his hips. "I can't believe you, Miss. Kwan. Are you trying to kill me or something?"

"Yes," Trini said calmly. "For not keeping in contact with me." She motioned between herself and Jason. "We've called you so many times and haven't gotten a response."

Zack's smile was fleeting. Not in a way that proved that he was giving a genuine smile, but in a way that proved he wasn't as happy as he was trying to portray. He didn't really have a choice but to stay away from Angel Grove because he was trying to help a friend. And now to keep that friend safe, all of his friends safe, and his family from being in harm's way, he limited his contact with everyone back in Angel Grove. It was the hardest thing he ever had to do, even keeping his secret of being a ranger from his parents. Instead of figuring out an excuse for it, as he was sure it was why the red and yellow rangers were staring at him expectantly, he gave a wide smile and opened his arms.

"Well, who cares about that, we're here now! Give me a hug, guys!"

Jason and Trini laughed and stepped into the black ranger's open arms, exchanging a tight hug between the three of them. It really had been too long since the three of them and their friends had been together. It was just too bad it was under such somber circumstances.

The three of them seemed to have had the same thought for they broke apart, giving each other small, sad smiles. When Tommy and Kimberly had called the three of them, explaining what had happened, they immediately went to the airport to get back to Angel Grove. Trini had been surprised that her parents let her go so quickly, especially since they had been the ones that had wanted to keep her apart from the blue ranger. But they had been friends with the Cranstons for a long time as well as the other rangers' parents.

"So, where are your Mom and Dad?" Jason changed the subject, looking around the yellow ranger.

"They're getting a car to take us home," Trini explained, pointing over her shoulder. "But…I think we may be going straight to Billy's house." She shifted her jacket over her arms, her gaze lowering to the ground. "But…I don't know what to say. What _are_ you supposed to say?"

Jason shrugged. "I had to think about that when we were going to visit my Uncle." He held up a hand. "He's doing fine now, considering. There have been a few cases of where he's been close to relapsing and Mom has basically told me to be prepared if he accidentally overdoses. It's really hard…there's never anything that's perfect to say. You just have to be there for the person…to support them when they need it."

Trini nodded.

"Let's get going then," Zack said. "If we wait any longer…I don't think I'm going to be able to move." He chuckled, though there was no humor in the situation. Lifting his chin, he pointed over towards baggage claim. "My Mom and Dad just got their bags."

"Right," Trini agreed. "And I'm sure Jasons' parents—"

"Actually, my parents couldn't make it," Jason said. "My Uncle's pretty bad; he's refusing to go to rehab, so they needed to stay to watch him." He nodded over at Zack. "I'm staying with them while we're here." He took a step forward and placed his hand on the yellow ranger's shoulder. "We have to go check in first, but we'll catch up to you later."

"Alright." Trini smiled and wrapped her arms around the former red and black rangers in a tight hug before picking up her bags and walking over to her parents, who were waving her to the rental counter. Once she joined them she glanced over her shoulder at the boys once more and waved to them before following her parents out of the airport.

They got into the rental car and drove back to their house. While her parents got their things unpacked and went to take a nap, having been suffering from jet lag from their sixteen hour flight. She felt drowsiness settling in over her as well, but she waved it aside. She couldn't focus on herself at the moment she had to think about her friends.

That had always been her personality; she was kind of the mother of the group. When they were kids she was always warning her friends to be careful, especially when Jason and Zack would scramble to the top of the jungle gym. Of course there were also times where they would run to the top of the tall structures just to point and laugh at Trini when she couldn't climb as high as they could. Then Kimberly would come over, climb up as high as they would, and holler at them for making her best friend cry, and then they'd apologize and climb lower. But Billy had always stayed with Trini on the lower part of the jungle gym, showing her the new species of insect he had found or starting up a game of tag.

And whenever one of them, mostly Billy, would fall and hurt themselves, or if Bulk and Skull would come around and tease them or push them around, Trini would immediately comfort her friends the best they could. But as she walked over to the Cranstons' house she wasn't sure how she was going to comfort Billy this time. The one that had brought him the most comfort over the years was the one that was gone. And no one in her family had passed yet, so she wasn't sure what to do exactly. But she wanted him to know she was there for him.

Taking a deep breath, the former yellow ranger went up the front steps and knocked on the door to the house. There was a long moment of silence and she could feel the sadness that surrounded the house. It wasn't as warm and inviting as it was habitually. She could sense the happiness around the house was gone, there was a deep depression aura coming from deep inside and it was staring to unnerve her.

Reaching up to knock again, the door opened and Billy poked his head out. Trini stared in surprise, she was used to see him in his glasses, a bright smile on his face that reached his eyes and radiated his friendly personality. But the boy that stood in front of her wasn't the blue ranger she was used to. He was wearing contacts—it was the only explanation as to why he wasn't squinting at her—, his hair which was generally perfect styled was in a mess over his forehead and he didn't look like he had smiled in days.

Billy blinked at her for a moment before standing up straight, his eyes widening. Did they light up? She thought she caught a little glimmer in his eyes. She wasn't exactly sure; nevertheless she was glad that Billy had recognized her. "Trini."

"Billy," Trini replied. She gave a small smile. "Long time no see."

Billy swallowed before stepping out from the doorway. Trini opened her arms and walked into him, giving him a hug. Being taller than average, Trini's chin rested perfectly on Billy's shoulder as she hugged him. She could feel him trembling underneath her grasp, doing his best not to break down in front of her, maybe not for the reason she was there. But for a combination of emotions. She couldn't bear for him to be so upset. It just wasn't Billy.

Finally, he pulled back, pressing his hands against her shoulders. "What are you doing here? When did you get back?"

"We got back a few hours ago," Trini explained. "Jason, Zack, and I. We…came back here for you, Billy. We didn't want you to go through this alone." She flipped her long hair behind her shoulders. "I came straight from the airport once I dropped my bags off at home." She gave him a small smile. "May I…come in?"

Billy glanced over his shoulder, the frown coming back to his face. "I…don't think that's a good idea," he said honestly. "My Dad…" a pained look flashed through his eyes and he gave her the fakest smile he had ever seen. It didn't look like Billy's smile. More of the one he would give when he was trying not to show how angry or uncomfortable he was. "And we have casseroles all over the place." He lifted a hand. "It's a beautiful day, why…don't we go for a walk?"

"OK."

Trini took a step back and waited as Billy closed the door behind him, locking the door. He stepped down from the porch and the two started up the street. And as they continued to walk along in silence, Trini found that she wasn't so uncomfortable anymore. Maybe just having someone that didn't want to immediately understand everything that was going on in his head and how he was felling was all he needed. Billy worked by logic and science and emotions were always somewhat foreign to him. Deep emotions anyway.

It even made her smile to think that was why he had taken so long to ask her out, though she hadn't helped matters either, not sure if he really was as interested in her as she was in him. Along with the thought that the only reason he would like her was because she was the only one that understood him. And maybe that was it too, their connection because she understood his scientific jargon and was very interested in what he had to say about basically everything. She was nothing but impressed when he had made the communicators for them as well as figuring out what could help them in their fights against the constant stream of monsters.

And in many ways she wished that Billy had been the red ranger, he was a leader in a different way that would be just as accomplished as Jason or Tommy were.

"So how are things in Vietnam?"

Billy's sudden speaking caused the former yellow ranger to look over at him. She was startled for a moment, and then registered his question. "Actually, things are going very well over there," she said. "I really like it. It's so different compared to Angel Grove but it kind of feels like home, y'know?" She gazed over at him. "I've been sending you guys letters. I even have some souvenirs that I brought back." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I thought it would cheer you up a bit."

"Thanks." Billy nodded, looking forwards once more. The two continued to walk in silence and then he spoke. "Being able to travel like you have…it seems really fun. Going off to Australia was amazing. It was like a whole other world was out there and I learned a lot about the different marine animals and things out there."

"Sounds like it was a lot of fun," Trini agreed. "I bet Av and Bay were excited to go back."

"You should've seen them. They were practically bouncing out of their seats on the plane out there." Billy chuckled. "We all had a great time. I wish you, Jason, and Zack could've seen it."

"I'm sure we'll all be able to get out there soon," Trini said. "Kim told me all about the trip. I never thought that Rita and Zedd would send a monster along with you guys on the trip."

The blue ranger scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't like that, exactly. Sabrina's not a monster. She has a monster that has taken her over. And the monster is loyal to Rita and Zedd. She can't control it, but she's aware when Scorpina is trying to take her over. We're trying to find a way to split the two apart, but I have no idea how that's going to happen."

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Billy. You always do."

Billy made a humming sound but didn't otherwise reply. He brought a hand up and ran it trough his unkempt hair. Then he sighed and in that sigh Trini could tell that he was only seconds away from breaking down. She reached out a hand and placed it over his forearm, right above his wrist. She gently pulled his arm and stopped him. He kept his gaze towards the ground.

That was alright with Trini as long as he heard and understood what she had to say.

"Whatever you need Billy, I'm here for you. I'm here to talk, here to listen. Even when I'm back in Vietnam, whatever you need, I'll be there for you."

Billy nodded, cracking a small smile. But once again, it didn't reach his eyes.

"Thanks, Trini."

* * *

 

With a loud groan, Jason flopped himself down onto his hotel bed. He stretched his arms and legs out, locking the muscles so that he could stretch them all the same. Sighing, he relaxed his body. "It's kind of weird to be back here, don't you think?" Jason asked.

Zack nodded, lifting the hanger that he held in his hand. A suit hung off of the metal object, gently swinging back and forth in his hand. He never wore suites. In fact, the only reason he had one was because it was to be used for special occasions such as weddings and funerals. Actually, he may have used it to ask Angela out on a date once, he couldn't really remember. Now it was being used to bury someone that had helped him change his pants after he had peed in them on accident, who had fed him when they would be doing homework after school. Someone who was just as smart as Billy was, but had a very calming and motherly way of explaining things to him.

It was strange, the whole you never know what you have until it's gone. It was like having left the power rangers. When he first joined the team he never thought he was going to willingly give up the new responsibility. As stressful as it was, it was still fun and something that only he and his friends were doing. It made them all closer and they understood each other and things more than other people did.

It was a secret they all shared and participated in.

And it was also something that had caused him to hold an even bigger secret. One that, in the wake of the upcoming funeral, he was having a hard time holding onto.

"Yeah," Zack agreed with a laugh. "I keep expecting some sort of monster, like Godzilla, to punch a hole in the wall of the hotel and grabbing us, keeping us hostage." Jason joined in with his laughter and Zack placed the suit up into the closet. He turned back and sat on his bed, bouncing his knees up and down. "I don't know. I just have the feeling that something's going to happen. Like I'm _waiting_ for something to happen."

"I know what you mean, bro," Jason agreed. "It actually took me a while to get used to people looking at me when I pass on the street and not immediately go to into fight mode."

"Yeah, but then it gets to the point where you're scared to go out at night," Zack continued, staring at the space on the wall above Jason's head. "You don't want to go anywhere because you're afraid that something's going to happen. You have the familiar want to protect your family, but you know that you're not going to be there all the time. Then there's not being able to sleep because you're sure that one your eyes close something's going to happen. You're constantly followed with the thought that without your powers you're nothing and you can't protect anyone and it's hard to shake it off.

"Even when in a different city, when we're far away from the monsters. It doesn't get easier."

Jason stared at the former black ranger. His mouth had dropped open slightly and he took a deep breath as he closed it. The former red ranger slowly pushed himself up so that he was sitting, facing his best friend, and rested his hands in his lap. He studied the African-American teen who continued to stare at the spot on the wall behind him. His eyes were haunted and he was breathing heavily.

"We're…not talking about being a ranger anymore are we?" Jason asked. Zak slowly shook his head. "What's going on, bro?"

Taking a deep breath, Zack was relieved that Jason had the foresight to ask him. He was tired of having to keep it a secret and letting it all out would finally relieve the stress and tension that was surrounding him. His parents were worried; they wanted him to go to a therapist. But talking to a stranger wouldn't help. He needed someone that would understand him and that was his best friend.

"I didn't leave Angel Grove because my parents got a job transfer," he whispered. His voice grew strength as he continued to speak. "We didn't leave because it came out of nowhere and they had to snap it up in a second. We left because I got into a lot of trouble and it has to do with why my powers were taken away."

"You escalated a fight," Jason said.

"Yeah, but not just any fight." Bowing his head, Zack ran his hands over his head. "I got into a fight with Summer and Skye. After hearing what had put Avalon in the hospital, knowing they had tried to kill her and they were going to get away with it. I couldn't handle the thought. I couldn't handle that after them having beat you up, stolen things from Kim, they've been a threat to us even when Av was working to get out of the gang. A rival gang came up to Bailey in school to give something to Av, because they knew she was in a gang. No one was safe and I couldn't handle that the police weren't going to do anything about it. So…I tracked them down to their hideout, told them to back off Av, and morphed in front of them and escalated a fight.

"Then I went and told Av what happened and she said that I had to get out of Angel Grove because I was their new target now that she was out of the gang. She said that Chase liked to work on revenge and it was something that he had passed along to the rest of the Vipers as he had been taught, and despite Summer and Skye needing to leave the city as well, until things cooled down, there was a good chance they'd come back for me."

Jason, whose mouth had dropped open even further, closed it and gently started to shake his head. "If I had known what you were going through, I could've helped in some way. Dad…he's been invested in this whole thing and—"

"—And I didn't want anyone else to get stuck in the endless cycle," Zack interrupted. "I didn't want anyone else to get hurt." He held up a hand. "Please, don't blame Av for any of this. It was my decision to do it. If…if it were any of the rest of you…I would've done the same thing. I can't have my Mom and Dad be targets. I had…I had to get out."

He finally broke down. Now that everything was out in the open, all of the stress he had been holding in for days was finally starting to get out. The relief had come over him so quickly he felt he was about to burst out into hysterical sobs.

"Thanks for telling me, man," Jason said. He reached out and clasped his hand around Zack's. "I know it had to be hard to keep this all in." He then tightened his grip. "If it's any consolation, I would've done the same thing. I wouldn't want you to be burdened with it while my parents would be my number one priority with your guys' safety in mind as well."

"You would?"

"Yeah."

Zack let out another sigh, shoulders slumping even further. "Thanks, man, that's…that's what I really needed to hear." He scratched the back of his neck. "But…I still don't think I can come back anytime soon. Not just because of that, but because of those guys at school. They wanted me to deal drugs. They had given me some before, I flushed it, and then they kept hounding on me to keep doing it. I tried to come up with excuses, but Skye got in on me, too. Apparently they are working with the Vipers because Skye knew the guys at school that were dealing the drugs. And the last time I worked with them was at prom, but I'm afraid if I go back to Angel Grove they'll come after me again.

"I can't come back here until things die down and I don't know how long that'll be. And that's why I haven't stayed in touch. I don't want anyone to find us."

"Hey, it's alright, man. You know that we'll support you with everything that you have to deal with. We're friends, rangers. We're a team and nothing can change that."

Zack nodded, letting out another sigh. "Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, man."

He brought his hand out and clasped it around Jason's. That had been dealt with, now he had to be there for Billy like Jason was for him.

* * *

 

Jason entered the youth center and sucked in a deep breath. Zack had quickly fallen asleep after his confession. It had been a long flight from New York for him and Jason hadn't had gone far to travel so he was awake and needed something to do. Working out was always something he fell back on, as well as his martial arts practices.

But as he found that there was no space to practice martial arts this time around, getting a set of weights together and working out seemed to be the way to go. The former red ranger walked over to the bar and grinned when Ernie spotted him. His eyes widened for a moment before he threw his arms out. "Hey, it's Jason!" He then smiled warmly. "I thought I would see you here."

Eyebrows lowering in confusion, the former red ranger pulled himself up onto a stool. "What d'you mean?"

A brief, panicked expression moved across Ernie's face before it was replaced with a calm smile. "It's really sad what happened to Billy's mother, huh?" He asked. "Didn't think something like a heart attack would take her so young. It sucks it's the only thing that managed to bring you back here for a visit. The kids here really miss you in their martial arts lessons."

Jason nodded. It wasn't a heart attack. He knew that. The rangers knew that. It was hard not to be able to say anything about it. "Yeah, man, it really sucks."

"Can I get you anything?" Ernie changed the subject. "A milkshake? A smoothie?"

"A protein shake, please," Jason said. "I'm about to get a workout in."

"D'you need a spotter?" Ernie nodded his head behind him and Jason turned around to see the orange ranger lying on her back on a bench as she raised and lowered a barbell above her. Sighing, Jason slid off of his stool and walked over to her.

"Haven't I told you before that you should have a spotter when lifting weights?" He asked her. Avalon barely glanced at him as she continued to raise and lower the barbell. _She always was stubborn._ "In fact I'm sure we've had this conversation many times before."

"And we've had the conversation that I'm not going to take a martial arts class with you again, mate, and I don't see that happening anytime soon." The orange ranger's face screwed up in concentration as she did one last rep and replaced the barbell in its holders. "Besides, we both know I could kick your ass anyway." Ducking her head, she leaned out from underneath and grabbed her towel, dabbing at the beads of sweat across her forehead before standing up and giving him a warm hug in greeting, which he returned. "Did you want something?"

"Other than getting my own workout in?" Lifting a leg, Jason straddled, the bench, sitting in front of her. He studied her eyes but she expertly avoided his gaze, pretending to be interested in the dance class across the room.

At those words, the orange ranger presented Jason with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Without a spotter? God forbid the mighty Jason Scott doesn't do what he's supposed to do."

"I've been working out a lot since I was a kid, I don't need a spotter," he replied. Rubbing his hands on his shorts covered thigh, Jason licked his lips. "How're you doing?"

The orange ranger pretended to think and Jason rolled his eyes, already knowing what was coming. "Well, let's see. I got shot in the shoulder so now every time the air pressure changes there's nothing but flashing pain up and down my arm. Chase is in jail but I'm still feeling the effects of the Vipers around me. And my best friend's mother just died, I think I'm doing spectacular, don't you?"

"I meant, how are _you_ doing?" Jason reiterated. "With Lacey and everything?"

There was a long moment of silence then Avalon sighed. "Not great," she admitted. "I just don't want a lot of attention on me." She raised and lowered her left shoulder. "I know how he feels. I'm used to people leaving me…I've been to a lot of funerals while I was in The Vipers…but Lacey was different. She was like a second mum to me in a way. I mean, she even went with me to buy my prom dress. I'll be apples."

"It's not a good idea to keep everything inside," Jason reminded her. "It's just going to eat away at you in the long run."

"Coming from the guy that tried to run out of Angel Grove after something he didn't really have a choice with, yeah." Now Avalon rolled her eyes. She draped her towel around her neck. "Like I said, I don't want a lot of attention on me."

"You never do."

"Yeah, what with being the Vipers and everything….the last thing I need is even more attention. I might get shot in the kneecap or something." She let out a humorless laugh. "Or my other shoulder, I need a matching set." When Jason frowned she chuckled. "I'm kidding, yeah? You need to lighten up, Jay."

"That's one thing I didn't miss," Jason said frankly. "You're always busting my balls."

Avalon let out a sound of disbelief and whacked him on the arm. "Because you're always annoying me. Ever since I met you, you've acted like my dad or my brother something." She held up a hand. "Only difference being that my dad wouldn't let me go out unless my bed sheets were straight enough to bounce a quarter off of. And he did that, many times."

Jason smirked. "The other difference being you wouldn't kiss your brother."

"Well, you're not my brother are you?"

"I mean, it's fine if you had a crush on me—"

"—Whoa! Whoa!" Avalon held up her hands. "I never had a crush on you. I merely got caught up in the heat of the moment when I was in an emotionally fragile state."

Twisting his mouth to the side, Jason's eyebrows twitched upwards. Then he relaxed. "Are you in an emotionally fragile state now?"

She sighed. "Please don't question my intelligence by saying you're trying to comfort me."

Jason flashed a charming smile. "Then I won't. "His smile faded. "Actually, I wanted to see something. And I got what I was looking for."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"To know that you're going to be OK." Crossing his arms over his chest, Jason looked at her seriously. "I don't just mean with Mrs. Cranston. I mean in general, with the Vipers, everything. You're going to be OK, Avie. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Thanks." Avalon stood up from the bench. "So are you going to spot me on the treadmill too, or can I go back to my workout now?" Jason waved his arms to the side, allowing her to move by him. "You can join me if you want. But if you make a comment on my form, I swear to fucking God, I'll punch you, yeah?"

Jason laughed as he followed her to the treadmills.

* * *

 

Kimberly sighed as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was time to head out to the funeral and she felt underdressed. Maybe it was because of the lack of pink in her wardrobe. All of the blacks and grays were depressing. But thaws the point wasn't it? _You're not supposed to stand out at a wedding._ Then, continuing to look at her reflection, Kimberly scowled. _Way to go Kim, you're thinking about your outfit when you should be thinking about Billy._

But she had never been to a funeral before. Not one that would be for someone so close to her. Her grandparents were all healthy and they were only just getting up there in age. What was she supposed to do? What was she supposed to say? She felt the sudden urge to the bathroom and throw up. That was what made her stomach feel better every time she was sick and her stomach was in knots. Knots so tight she wasn't sure how to unwind them.

_It won't be that bad. I've only done it a few times; it's not going to become a habit._

A light knock at her door caused Kimberly to turn around and see her mother poke her head into her room. "Kim, it's time to go." Kimberly nodded and Mrs. Hart gave a small smile before moving to leave the room.

"Mom." Kimberly stopped her. Mrs. Hart pushed the door open wider and watched as her daughter squirmed on the spot. She twisted her fingers, gently chewed her lower lip, and shuffled her feet. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I'm sorry for the way I've been yelling at you, acting like you're not a person, treating you like dirt. All because I thought you couldn't understand me." She brought up a hand and wiped away a silent tear. "And it'd not fair and I don't want you to think I hate you and—"

"Oh, honey." Mrs. Hart enveloped her daughter in a tight hug, rocking her back and forth. "It's OK. Everything that's been said. We need to put it all behind us. I'm sorry for everything I've said, too." She rubbed the pink ranger's back. "I guess I just never understood you, what you were going through, how much pressure I've been putting on you."

"You haven't been putting any pressure on me," Kimberly said to her. "I was just…angry. Things have been so hard between us for a long time, Kimmy." She leaned back, rubbing her daughter's arms. "I just…it's like you're keeping a huge part of yourself a secret from me and it's hard. We've never kept secrets from each other before."

Kimberly nodded. "I…I guess I understand." _I understand more than you think._ "But, some things in my life are private. Like…when you caught me and Tommy. You freaked out after that. Mom, I'm old enough to make my own decisions about things like that."

Mrs. Hart nodded, continuing to rub her arms. "I know. I know. It's…it's just hard to see how much you don't need me anymore. And with all of the monsters that are running around, I worry about you day after day."

"I'm safer than you think, Mom. Trust me."

"I know."

Kimberly gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry, Mom." She grabbed onto her hand. "Let's…let's start over. It's terrible timing, having to do it like this…but there's no time like the present right?"

"Right."

Mrs. Hart held her daughter's hand tightly, and nodded. The two left the house and headed out towards the church that was going to be holding the funeral.

* * *

 

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha walked across the front lawn that led up to the church. There were large crowds of people dressed in all fashions of dark clothing, heading inside. In fact, there were more guests than anticipated. The residents of Angel Grove had sympathized, hearing about the untimely death of Mrs. Cranston. Not only was she a well respected teacher at the school, but Billy had been well known around Angel Grove for all of his environmental work, charity work, and his achievements throughout the science and math world that many sympathized with the boy, having lost his mother while he was so young.

And as the three rangers walked into the church, they looked at their friend that stood at the front of the church next to his father, hands clasped in front of him and addressing anyone that came by the open casket. The two Cranston men spoke quietly to whomever walked by them and yet, the rangers weren't sure if they should take their turn going up there as well. They had given their condolences to Billy before, Rocky even going as far as to keep putting his foot in his mouth whenever he did so, and doing it again may make him even more upset than he would be.

"Here's a spot," Adam said, pointing into an empty pew. He scooted down the row, nodding at Kimberly, Tommy, Avalon, Bailey, and Fred as they sat in front of them. Settling down in his seat he looked towards his left and stared when he saw Sabrina.

She looked over at him and gave him a gentle smile before lowering her head. "Hi Adam," she said to him.

"Hi," he replied. The two were silent for a minute. Adam rolled up the program in his lap, unable to look at the picture of Billy's mother for too long. He crossed his legs, uncrossed his legs, tapped his feet on the ground, and then held himself still. "Sabrina," he turned to her and looked directly in her eyes. She looked back at him, a bit startled.

For a long moment, Adam looked into Sabrina's eyes, expecting them to turn red and for him to find himself on his back with her bone sword pressed against his throat. But she continued to look back at him.

"Adam?" she pressed.

"I don't care…if Scorpina is a part of you," Adam said. "I don't care that there's a part of you that we're trying to beat. You're not her and we all know that. I like you, Sabrina and…I want to take a chance with it."

Sabrina gazed at him in surprise and nodded before smiling warmly at him. Adam smiled back and the two paid attention as the funeral started.

The funeral then started and Billy and Mr. Cranston took their seats at the front of the room. Rocky shifted in his seat as he paid attention to the pastor that started speaking. He hated being there. It was just so uncomfortable to him. He was the kind of person that liked to see the good part of life as much as possible. It was why he never thought much about his father, despite how angry he had been in the few years after he had left. It was why he didn't dwell too much on a loss against Rita and Zedd. In fact, he had made himself think that anyone around them passing away from being in direct contact with a monster was even possible.

They were untouchable, or so he thought.

And the wakeup call had been enough to push him over the edge. After the green ranger and Dinozord had been defeated, Rocky had gone home, went into the bathroom, and cut his wrist for the first time. It was the best way for him to get out all of the pent up frustration and he had felt amazing afterwards. Watching the blood run down his wrist made him feel so much better than he had in weeks. He didn't realize that he had been so stressed.

Then he had cut himself two more times before he returned the razor to the cabinet with a shaky hand. Looking over his work he felt shame and quickly cleaned up the blood and bandaged himself and no one was the wiser. The feeling was coming back again and he was starting to get scared.

As if noticing Rocky's discomfort, Aisha reached over and grabbed onto his hand. He glanced at her and she gave him a comforting smile, shifting closer to his side. Her fingers gently ran over the skin of his wrist and he gently moved his hand, positioning it so that her fingers were between his. Her fingers were warm and comforting and he felt himself relax as the seconds passed.

 _That was close._ She had almost felt the cuts on the inside of his wrist. The ones he had dug into his palms with his fingernails had been easier to hide, but they didn't bring the same amount of relief, the euphoria and bliss swaddling him like a newborn baby.

This was close.

Sitting in the pew behind the three new rangers, Tommy's eyes moved around the church. Kimberly sat to his left, her arms wrapped tightly around his. Her mother sat to her left and every now and then the two would give comforting smiles to each other. He was glad to see the two of them had made up and while it had happened under some of the worse circumstances, he was glad it happened.

And it made him realize that life really was too short. Not that he had been blissfully unaware of it; he had so many things he thought about throughout the day. But he rarely thought about the things going on in his life that weren't so important. So what if he was late for class or school? So what if he didn't remember to bring his homework to school all the time. It was neither here nor there.

And sitting there in the church, watching the funeral, Tommy was suddenly very thankful. Not only did he have an amazing girlfriend by his side that would do anything to protect him and everyone in her life, but on his other side he had two girls that had gone through so much and continued to face each and every day with a smile. He knew then that he did want them to be his adoptive sisters and that he did want to be the leader of the power rangers.

To be able to save countless lives as they did their best to keep the entire globe from being taken over was what he needed to focus on. There were going to be casualties but they were always going to be there for each other no matter what.

Just like they were all going to be there for Billy when he would let them in.

* * *

 

The funeral had gone by in a whirlwind for Billy. In fact, he hardly remembered being there. He recognized his friends and family as they came through the line for the viewing. He thanked them for each and every one of their condolences. He even remembered standing up at the front of the church and giving a small speech about his mother and how much he was going to miss her, but he had been numb throughout the whole thing.

But he wasn't completely, consciously there. He went through different mathematical and scientific equations in his head; he thought about his next work with the science club, he even distracted himself by rational thoughts. _Everyone has to die at one point or another; it was just her time to leave. She's given much advancement to the science fields, you should be proud of her. Even doing what I do, there's a higher chance of my passing that I need to get used to as well._

And yet, he still felt himself starting to break down. So after everything was said and done and his father had headed back to the house, Billy went to the only place he knew where he would be comfortable. As soon as he landed n the Command Center he grabbed onto the nearest control panel and burst out into hysterical sobs. He couldn't help himself; he couldn't hold it in anymore. So he sobbed and sobbed, fat tears rolling down his reddened cheeks accompanying his gasps, until he felt that he couldn't cry anymore.

His mother wasn't coming back.

She was gone forever.

He had done his best to protect everyone in Angel Grove and he couldn't save his mother.

The sobs slowly died down and Alpha and Zordon sat nearby quietly, knowing he needed time to himself.

When his sobs finally subsided, Alpha slowly pattered over and held out a flower towards him. Billy recognized it was an _Arctomecon merriamii_ or also known as a Desert Poppy. That meant that he had teleported out of the Command Center and into the desert to bring it to him. A tug pulling at his lips, Billy reached out and grabbed the flower. Touched, he looked over it for a long time before turning back to the animatronic robot.

"Thanks Alpha," he said to the robot.

"You're welcome, Billy," Alpha replied with a slight nod of his head.

"If there's anything that you need Billy, please let us know," Zordon boomed from above him.

Billy deposited the flower on the inside pocket of his suit, nodding. He placed his hands on his hips. "I think I'm just going to check out the zords and run the diagnostics not hem for a while. I'll let you know if I need anything." He walked out of the main area of the Command Center and to the hangar that held all of the zords. Entering it, he pulled off his jacket and laid it over a nearby control panel. Rolling up his sleeves he picked up a pair of safety goggles and a soldering gun from a tray that held the equipment for and headed over towards the zords.

Working on the first few he realized that they had managed to withstand the damage that the Dinozord had tried to set out and that having used the Tiger Megazord had probably kept them from being destroyed. He soon found himself completely engrossed in his work on the zords, checking the hydraulics, engines, gears, and engines throughout all of them. He was working on his Triceratops zord on one of the higher catwalks when he heard footsteps heading his way.

"I thought I'd find you here, Smurf."

Billy ducked his head out from underneath the Triceratops zord, closing a panel on the underside of its neck and watched as she walked over to the Stegosaurus zord. The zord lowered its head and nuzzled the front against her hands.

"I'm just getting some work done," he explained, lifting the goggles off of his eyes and up onto his forehead. "Surprisingly the zords didn't sustain a lot of damage, but there were some things that needed to be looked at anyway. In fact I think I managed to increase the velocity that our zord will output when it comes to the most opportune times."

"Surprisingly, I think I understood you," Avalon remarked. She lowered her hands from the Stegosaurus zord and turned to him, resting her hands on the railing in front of her. "How come you're not back at the house? Everyone's looking for you."

Billy shrugged. I should've seen that coming. He turned back to the Triceratops zord and reached for it, but it pulled its head back out of the way. Frowning, Billy reached for the zord once more but the zord made a grunting sound and backed away.

"He's saying that he knows you're upset and thinks you're done working on him," Avalon supplied.

Looking at her as if he was crazy, Billy crossed his arms over his bare chest. His shirt had gotten covered in grease from working on the first zord and he hadn't wanted to wreck it any further. Besides, the funeral was over, what did it matter what he looked like? "How do you know that?"

The orange ranger pointed up at the zord. "He just said so."

"I didn't hear him say that."

"Because, Smurf, you weren't listening." She took a step closer to him, tilting her head towards the zord. "All of us rangers have a bond with each of our zords; you and Kim have had yours longer than me, Tommy, Bay, Rocky, Adam, or Aisha, but its there. You just haven't been listening lately, though I can understand that." She reached out and ran her hand along the side of the Triceratops. "I kinda miss piloting this guy."

The Stegosaurus zord grunted.

"Oh, you know what I mean, Steggy." She shot a dismissive glance over towards her own zord. "I'm just saying that while you were miniaturized it was fun. Apart from the fact that it turns into a unicorn, yeah?"

"Hey unicorns get a lot of flack but they're actually interesting creatures," Billy defended his zord. "Not only are they a symbol of purity and grace, but its rumored that the horn is said to have the power to render poisoned water potable and heal sickness. And that's not including the fact that it's a very powerful creature."

Avalon continued to stare at him, only moving an eyebrow upwards. "It's a unicorn," she repeated.

"Whatever." He chuckled a little. Billy moved on to finish with the Stegosaurus zord. "I'm almost done here."

"I'll wait."

Billy continued to work on the Stegosaurus zord in silence. And as he continued to work he was aware of the Triceratops zord watching his every move. He then understood what Avalon was talking about. He could feel his bond with the zord and realized that he had, indeed, been ignoring it the past couple of days. Which made him wonder what else he had been ignoring. 'Who else' was the better phrasing. He had been ignoring his own emotions for the past couple of days and having had been able to release it earlier had him feeling the most normal than he's had in over a week.

Who knew that working on the zords was really going to help him?

Finishing up his work on the Stegosaurus zord, Billy and Avalon climbed down from the rafters and Billy replaced the soldering gun and goggles back onto the tray and the two teleported back to his house. He was surprised to find Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Jason, Zack, Fred, Bailey, and Kimberly in the middle of a game of basketball in his driveway.

"See, Billy?" Avalon placed her hand on his forearm. He looked down at her. "We're all here for you. I know how it feels to lose someone and how quickly you can fall into a place where you think you're alone. But you're not. And you showed that to me before. It's something I can't forget. I don't want you to forget it either."

Billy nodded as he looked over at his friends. Trini and Tommy were sitting on the front steps of the porch, talking to each other as Sabrina sat a few paces away from them, watching the friends play. Despite all of them coming from different places and having different experiences they really were there for each other.

He looked down at Avalon once more and noticed something on the inside of her arm. He peered closer and spotted the bandage. "What's that?" He pointed to the bandage that covered the wrist area of her left arm. "Did you hurt yourself?"

The orange ranger looked down and sighed in mock exasperation. "It was going to be a surprise once it all healed," she said, carefully peeling back the tape that held it together. "I didn't hurt myself. I got another tattoo." Peeling away the bandage she turned her hand around to show off the lightning bolt that was tattooed on the side of her wrist. It was blocky in nature, but fit perfectly within the area. "It reminds me of all of us…of being a ranger, how we were destined for this and the responsibility that we have."

Billy gently ran his fingers over the thunderbolt before sliding his hand back and pressing his fingers into her palm. She curled her hand around his, looking up at her through her fringe and he gave her a small smile.

"Hey!" Zack called caused the blue and orange ranger to look over towards the driveway. "Are you guys going to play or what?"

"Yeah!" Avalon agreed. She quickly kicked off her heels and hurried over. "Though you're going to have to cut me some slack because I'm so short."

"Us shorties will stick together then," Aisha said, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Avalon laughed and hugged her back as Kimberly hollered her approval.

"Billy?" Jason, who was holding the ball between his hands, nodded at the blue ranger. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah." Nodding, Billy shed his jacket and walked over to the porch to place it on the steps out of harm's way. Trini, Tommy, and Sabrina went to play as well. Billy placed his jacket on the porch steps and straightened up to join his friends. He spotted his father standing in the front window, watching him. Billy gave him a small smile, lifting his hand.

Mr. Cranston cracked a smile and a nod.

Billy hurried onto the court as his friends got set up around him.

Fred nabbed he ball from the former red ranger and dribbled it towards the basket. "Bay!" He called and threw it over to the purple ranger, who quickly got covered by the black ranger and had the ball stolen from her.

As the rangers continued to play their game Mr. Cranston watched, slightly detached. His wife may have been gone, but at least his son was coming back.


	47. With Friends Like These

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the last chapter for this story! The next one 'These Walls' is now up and running as well. That one spans MMPR The Movie, MMPR S3, and Zeo. I hope you guys enjoy that one as much as you have this one!

**Chapter 47**

_With Friends Like These_

* * *

 

"So I figured that this summer we could all do something together that we haven't tried before," Tommy said as he sat down with his friends in the Youth Center. He pulled a pamphlet out of his backpack that rested at his feet. Twisting around, he handed it to Billy. "And I know that you've talked about it before so I figured it would be something we could all do."

Billy took the pamphlet and leaned back so Rocky, Adam, and Aisha could see as well. His eyebrows rose when he spotted the colorful image of someone jumping out of an airplane, an even more colorful parachute attached to the parachute's back.

"You want us to go sky diving?" Rocky asked, his eyes lighting up. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah," Aisha agreed. "I've always wanted to try it!" She rested her chin in her hands, eyes moving over the pamphlet. "It always seems like so much fun. My Dad has done it a few times and he says it's a blast."

"You signed us up for this?" Adam asked the white ranger, who flopped down I his seat, nursing a smoothie.

Shaking his head, Tommy gently pushed the smoothie aside. "Not yet," he explained. "I wanted to see what you guys thought about it." He then addressed Billy. "I know things have been hard for you and your Dad lately, and I thought we could do something fun."

"Well this certainly constitutes as something that will get my adrenaline pumping," Billy said and chuckled. He then smiled at his friend, dropping the pamphlet down onto the table in front of him. "Thanks Tommy, this sounds like a good idea. Actually, it's great that you mentioned it, the observatory is closing down and there's a petition to keep it going." He pointed at the pamphlet. "I think that if we do this, but turn it into a charity jump, it'll definitely help save the place."

"That's a great idea, Billy," Adam said to him.

The blue ranger gave a modest shrug, crossing his arms over his chest, in his relaxed position. The times during and immediately after his mother's funeral had been especially hard and he had spent more time by himself as well as in his lab and the Command Center, but his friends had been very supportive of him and that was very helpful. He was starting to fee almost normal again, though it was when it was night time it was the hardest for him to find solace.

The darkness and all of the time alone caused the depressing thoughts to come back and he would either find himself angry or filled with anxiety .He talked about it as much as he could, doing his best to let others know what was going on. Despite his tendency to speak in a rational way, sort of downplaying the situation.

Nevertheless, he was getting better.

"Well, let's see what Kim, Av, and Bay think about it," Adam suggested. "I'll go tell them." He turned and headed across the Youth Center towards the gymnastics equipment. Approaching, he watched as Kimberly instructed Avalon and Bailey, who were on balance beams, to do a few simple maneuvers. As the pink ranger instructed them, Avalon tried doing a cartwheel as she was told, but slipped at the last second and flailed her arms before falling. Before hitting the ground, the orange ranger reached out and grabbed onto the balance beam, hanging upside down from it as if she were a spider clinging to a spider web.

Bailey, on the other hand, tried doing a cartwheel on the balance beam and had almost made it but fell off at the last second, crashing to the mats below her.

Laughing, Kimberly walked between the orange and purple rangers, placing her hands on her hips. "You guys almost had it this time," she said to them. Reaching out, she untangled Avalon from the beam. "Why don't you try again? I'm sure you'll get it."

"No thank you," Bailey denied. "I'm tired of constantly slamming to the ground."

"You make it look so easy, Pinkerbell," Avalon added.

The pink ranger gave her an incredulous look as she pulled herself up onto the balance beam. Stretching her arms out, she balanced herself in her quick, lithe steps along the beam. "You do things like this every day when you're practicing parkour."

"I jump over, like, ten foot gaps, not walk on two inch planks, there's a difference," Avalon pointed out. She turned and spotted Adam gave him a short wave. "Hey Adam, what's up?"

Pointing over his shoulder, the black ranger replied, "Tommy has some plans for us to do something over the summer. It sounds like it'll be a blast, too. You should check it out." Avalon and Bailey made sounds of agreement and hurried over to the table the red, yellow, white, and blue rangers had taken over.

"Cool!" Kimberly turned around, swinging her left foot in a quick arc as it hovered over the balance beam. She started towards him once more then wobbled, bringing hand up to her forehead. A frown slid over her face and she wobbled even further before jumping to the floor. Letting out a deep breath, she leaned against the beam, now moving her other hand to her forehead. "Whoa," she murmured.

Adam moved to her side and pressed a hand to her shoulder, peering into her face. "Kim, are you OK?"

"Yeah." Kimberly swallowed thickly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

She finally flashed a bright smile, the worried expression sliding from her face. If anything she looked a little tired, her eyes not shining as they typically did. "Yeah, Adam, I'm fine." She patted him on the arm. "But thanks for asking. I guess I'm just dehydrated or something."

Adam smiled and nodded. He led Kimberly over to the table that was surrounded by their friends and she reached over, picking up the pamphlet that was on the table.

"What's this?" Kimberly asked. She red over the pamphlet and her entire face lit up. "Sky diving? That's awesome!"

"To you, maybe," Avalon denied. "Unlike you lot, I'd like to keep my two feet on the ground, thank you very much." She reached out and took Tommy's smoothie, taking a long sip of it. Disgruntled, the white ranger took it back and stuck his tongue out at her. "You've been spending too much time with Bailey, mate."

"I should," Tommy replied. "I'm going to be spending a lot more time with both of you once the adoption papers go through."

The orange ranger raised an eyebrow. "And you're planning on killing us off already?" She motioned over to the pamphlet as the rangers all sat down around the table. "You all can go skydiving if you'd like, I'll just watch you all crash to your deaths."

"Way to be supportive, Ava," Billy said to her.

Bailey groaned and pouted. "That's not fair; I'm too young to do it."

Aisha gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, Bay. You may be too young to do the actual jump, but you can participate when we go to the indoor centers and everything to try it out." She laughed as the purple ranger immediately perked up at the idea. "Of course, we have to get through the rest of the school year first."

"We can do it," Rocky said firmly. "If we can beat Rita's and Zedd's monsters every day we can get through a few days of school. Besides," he lowered his voice. "I'm almost sure that Mr. Caplan may be one of their monsters as well." The table burst out into loud laughter. "I'm being serious. I have a whole theory as to how he's a monster and knows everything we're up to, I'm sure of it."

"Well, if we're going to listen to this nonsense, we're going to need something to eat while we do it," Aisha suggested. "Nachos?"

"I'll get it," Billy offered, standing up. "I'm sure it's my turn, anyway." Walking over to the counter, he slid up onto a stool as Ernie turned from the TV, watching a news report. "Hey Ernie, could we get three orders of nachos?"

"Sure thing, Billy," Ernie replied with a bright smile. He got started getting the food together. "Listen, I know things have been hard lately, but I'm glad everything's working out for you now." He nodded at the rangers behind him. "Keep your friends close, Billy. Having a friendship like you all have…that's something really special."

Billy smiled. "I know."

Once Ernie finished making the food for the rangers, he watched as Billy took it back to the table and sat down, listening as Rocky made a joke, causing the rangers to start laughing once more. Chuckling to himself, Ernie walked to the back room of the Youth Center and closed the door behind him.

He glowed in a bright light and teleported back up to the Command Center where Alpha immediately put him back into the Power Tube. Alpha toddled over in front of Zordon and waited for his news.

"The blue ranger will be fine, Alpha," Zordon said to him. "The rangers are doing a good job making sure he's getting the help he needs."

"Ay yi yi, I'm glad to hear it, Zordon," Alpha said. He turned to the viewing globe and watched the rangers in the Youth Center. "Things are going to get harder for them the more Rita gets defeated, but I have faith in them."

"So do I, Alpha," Zordon agreed. "So do I."

* * *

 

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the last chapter for this story! The next one 'These Walls' is now up and running as well. That one spans MMPR The Movie, MMPR S2, MMPR S3, and Zeo. I hope you guys enjoy that one as much as you have this one!


End file.
